Barely Scratched The Surface
by sanestinsanepersonever
Summary: A new character is brought into the Asylum, causing a little bit of trouble. Yeah, there's an OC. Crane/OC.
1. No Touching

It's Not The Mask That You Should Be Afraid Of

But What's Underneath…

Was there ever a day when a dreary cloud wasn't hanging over Gotham's very own Arkham Asylum? Doubtful. Nor did the cloud fade when vehicle meant to transport patients pulled up to the front gates, pushing the buzzer, the gates creaking open slowly. The tinted windows of the vehicle were meant for privacy, to keep piercing gazes from looking too closely.

At the front doors of the asylum, the vehicle came to a stop, the ignition cut off. Two men stepped out, moving to the back doors, pulling the door open slowly. Most wouldn't have been surprised to find some screaming banshee in the back of that vehicle, perhaps someone who looked as if they would foam at the mouth any second, but no. Instead, there was a woman, early twenties, making no sound, nor making any effort of getting out of the car.

The man not holding the door open leaned into the back of the vehicle, grasping her upper arms and pulling her from the car as a nurse came out with a wheel chair. Almost afraid of breaking the woman, the man tried his best to be gentle while setting her in the wheel chair. The nurse waved her hand at him, giving him and the other man a quick word of thanks before turning the girl around and moving her into the asylum, the doors closing shut behind them.

After the routine that was required for patients to go through, the woman was rolled down to a cell with a clear door, the nurse swiping a key through a slot, the door sliding open.

"Well, Miss Vail, I do hope you like your stay here with us. Someone will be in to get you when the rec. room is open, or whenever it's time for meals. By the way, I'm Judy, so if you ever need me..." Judy knew she was rambling on for nothing, the patient's eyes stared forward, unfocused, eyelids drooped. For a few moments, she wondered what the girl had done to get her stuck in this ward.

Thankfully, none of the usual occupants of the ward were in their cells, this was therapy hour, so either private therapy or group therapy, depending on the day. It was common for new patients to miss the first day, to grow accustomed to the change of being in Arkham. Glancing to her watch, she noted therapy hour would be over shortly, and she needed to get back to her post. After helping the patient to the bed to sit, she nodded and took off, making sure the door was securely shut and locked behind her.

The new patient let her eyes droop further, before reopening at the sound of a ruckus being made. "Puddin'!"

"Harley..~"

"Stuff it, clown."

"Fiesty today, huh, Isley?"

"Bite me, Riddler."

"Only if you ask nicely."

"The lot of you are freaks."

"Says you, Crow."

There was a faint tug at the corner of her lips, though they stayed in a straight line. A man with scars across his face was being escorted by a guard past her cell, pausing a moment, he called to the others, "New meat!" Being tugged by the guard, the man let out an inhumane laugh.

"You'll all get to meet her during rec. time," She guessed this was the guard talking, though the others continued with their conversations with the other patients. A few of the voices kept quiet, whoever this Crow was had, as had another, Riddles or something.

"We got ourselves another girl, eh?" There were a few noises from the way the man with the scars went then another laugh that made her skin crawl, though she kept still. "Fine, back to my room!"

Her eyelids finally slid to a close, sleep taking hold of the silent girl.

Only for her sleep to be ripped away from her by a guard. Rapping on her 'door'. Opening her eyes to gaze at him with her hollow look, he looked at her expectantly. "Time to get up, sleeping beauty."

Ha. She was no beauty. She was the monster of her fairy tale. Shakily, the woman rose to her feet, knees giving out the moment she was standing fully, falling back onto her bed. Grand. Her legs still weren't working properly. Error, error, equilibrium is off. Actions taken; try again. Shoving herself up again, her eyes shut, steadying herself.

"You need me to get a nurse...?"

She shook her head, dark red strands falling over her pale face. It took a few minutes to get to the door. She heard no noise from the other inmates, suspecting to have been let sleep through their herding to the rec. room. At the door, she gazed at the door.

The door slid open, out she came, her arms shaking slightly. "You sure you don't need a nurse?" The look he was given by those empty hazel eyes silenced him. The walk to the rec. room seemed like forever, maybe because her legs hadn't been used in the last few days. That was a possibility.

The door to the rec. room was a normal door, not a door that was made of bulletproof glass. The guard opened the door, holding it open for her. Hazel eyes focused on those in the room a moment, perhaps they wouldn't notice, as none of them had looked up from what they were doing. Entering the room, she noticed two guards inside, obviously there to make sure they weren't killing each other. Taking in the contents of the room, objects more than people, she was curious as to what would keep her amused.

Books? No, she was a reader, but she doubted they had any books from the horror genre. This was a mental hospital, the patients had enough to worry about without any additional nightmares. Painting? No. She wasn't about to pick up a paintbrush. Her doctor might be notified and try to help her through art therapy. Television? The new patient had never been a fan of the 'tube', preferring to take a walk or read as amusement, but she was doubtful that they would allow her the pleasure of being outside.

Unfortunately, there were others sitting on the couch, watching the television. A woman with orange-red hair, and a man with blond-ish green hair. A blonde woman was sitting at the feet of the man with the green hair, content as could be. 'Grand,' her mind sputtered, 'we have to put up with these people, for who knows how long... Good job getting us stuck in here, Rae.' She rolled her orbs, moving to the couch, sitting in between the red-head and the green haired fellow, hands on her lap, body tightened to avoid the physical contact of the others she was sitting next to, eyes glued to the television.

An arm draped across her shoulders, "Well, well, why don't you tell us about yourself? The docs and nurses won't say a thiiinnng. Even the gossipers, and they squeal like pigs when one of us comes around." The man with the green hair, she recognized him as the man with the scars.

Her hands rose, grasping his wrist, in a graceful, weirdly flexible moment, she was standing in front of him, his arm twisted into a very uncomfortable position, painful even, if the look on his face said anything. But then he laughed. Everyone's eyes drew to the two. She twisted his arm further. A pained laugh escaped him, her brows knitted together at the sound. "Miss Vail. Release Joker's arm, I'm going to have to escort you back to your room."

"He touched me," Her voice came out quieter than a whisper.

"Yes, but that does not mean you have to get violent, Miss Vai-"

"He. TOUCHED. Me." It was odd how she could go from her quiet tone to nearly screaming.

The redhead scoffed quietly, "He does that to everyone, whether they like it or not."

"Hey, girl! Get your hands off of my Puddin'!" The blonde who was at the feet of the man identified as Joker leapt, Rae releasing the man's hand half a second before the blonde smashed into her. An 'oomph!' escaped their lips when they hit the floor, the guards on them, pulling them apart. Rae went slack, glaring at the guard until he got the idea and released her. The blonde kept fighting. A man was sitting in the corner, reading to himself, rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright, Miss Vail, I'm going to have to take you back to your roo-" Perfect time for her legs to give out again. Error. Error. System overload. System overload. The hollow eyes went even blanker. Perfect way to start off her stay at Arkham Asylum. Start trouble, have a System Overload. She felt her eyelids falling, letting the darkness take her, the guard yelling for the nurse barely phasing her in her slumber.


	2. Group

Not the face that can hide beneath the mask,

But what's hidden under the flesh.

* * *

The lights were too bright, her eyes hurt. Turning on her bed, she curled her body inwards, arms shifting over her head to try and block out the light. There was a rapping at her door/window. A nurse, this time, with a tray of food. Had her privileges to eat with the other patients been taken away already? That person had touched her, she had obviously not wanted to be touched the way she had been sitting, careful to not bump any of the others. Idiotic man and his idiotic wench.

"Sit up if you want me to come in with the food, Miss Vail," An almost inhumane noise escaped her throat in response to the nurse's words. Her eyes hurt, the light sucked, she needed them covered to save herself from a horrible migraine. Another knock at the window/door and Rae sat up, sending dark looks at the nurse. It was the one who had wheeled her in the day before. Judy, was it? The nurse smiled and opened the door, bringing the tray in with her.

Again, Rae couldn't hear the chattered of the other inmates. Where were they? Her eyes found the tray of food, probably lunch.

"You slept through dinner last night and breakfast, so I wanted to wake you up and give you some food before therapy begins. You don't have a doctor yet, so no individual therapy. So we're starting you out in Group. After this meal, you're going to be eating with the rest of the patients," Judy flashed Rae a smile, the patient staring at her, taking the offered food, eating slowly. She paused mid-bite, glancing at Judy.

"Sorry, got to watch you, you know. Can't have you hiding your fork or anything that you could hurt yourself with," Rae rolled her eyes. Yeah, she was totally going to kill herself with a fork. Riiight.

"I'm done.." She held the tray of food back out towards the nurse, watching the floor.

The nurse tutted a moment, before shaking her head, "Next time, eat more than half you're food, alright? We don't need the doctors thinking you're anorexic or bulimic." The patient nodded lightly. "Now, we've gotta get you to Group." The patient made a disgruntled noise, rising from the bed, wobbly, but not falling.

"Alright."

"Welcome, Raelyn, to Group Therapy!" A doctor sitting in a chair, one of several that formed a circle. A man with eyes that seemed kind. Eyes couldn't be trusted. They lied. The expression, 'The eyes are the gateways to the soul' or something, was a lie.

Joker sent her an amused look, the woman who had tackled her the day prior snuggled close to the man, though was reprimanded for it by the doctor. Next to that woman was the red head. The red head sat next to the doctor, and on the other side of the doctor was the dark haired man who had been reading in the rec. room. An empty chair and then there was a blonde man sitting next to a red haired man, the red haired man was sitting next to Joker. She shifted to the empty chair, careful to avoid contact. Feeling eyes on her, she pulled her knees up, feet resting on the front of the chair.

"Tell us about yourself, Raelyn."

"It's Rae. I don't liked to be touched, and I don't want to be here." A few laughs came from the other members of the circle.

"None of us do either, kid," the red haired man. Others nodded in agreement. The doctor sighed, then let out a noise.

"I forgot, Rae, to introduce you. This is Pamela Isley-"

"Ivy."

"Harleen Quinzel-

"Harley, if ya' please."

"Joker," The doctor waited for an interruption, then continued, "Edward Nigma-"\

"The Riddler, if you would be so kind.."

"Jervis Tetch.." Again, waiting for interruption, there was none. "And Jonathan Crane."

"The big bad Scarecrow," Joker let out a laugh, not paying any mind to the look the blue eyed man had given him.

"Guys, calm down.." The doctor spoke, smiling to the group. "We're here to get things off of our chests and get better, not to pick on each other."

"None of us are going to get 'better', Doc, no matter how hard you try," Joker spoke in almost a singsong voice, winking at the group. Rae shook her head.

The doctor ignored Joker a moment, smiling at the newcomer, "So, Raely- I mean, Rae, Joker told us earlier about what happened in the rec. room yesterday..."

Rae shot a look at the scarred man, arms tightening around her legs, "I don't like being touched, it has nothing to do with anything from my past, or anything else, I simply don't like being touched." Tetch made it obvious when he scooted away from her.

"Well…" Awkward moment. "That was informational…" The doctor scribbled something on his notebook, making Rae irritated. She didn't like doctors and their files, keeping what they think about the patient away from the patient.

Crane leaned over, whispering, "If you're curious, that note was probably about how you deny any possible trauma from your past." Then, he leaned away again, Rae sending him dark looks as well.

Now a crazy was analyzing her? Screw this, as soon as she could walk without stumbling, she was going to leave this place. Break out. Arkham definitely had a reputation for letting prisoners escape, and those that escaped were high profile criminals. She wondered how the hell Arkham hadn't been shut down yet, or been put under new management, upped the security, something to keep the patients from escaping. Idiots.

Well, at least the security would be lax enough for her to escape. She doubted she'd be able to walk quietly. She stayed quiet for the rest of the group session, completely ignoring any and all remarks made in her direction.

Into her room, her cell, she went, escorted like the others were, ignoring their idle chatter, hands rubbing her arms through the horrible clothes given to her to wear by the asylum. Her arms were aching. She'd need to grab her things before she escaped, whenever that would be. Shaking her arms, she went into her room, taking a seat on her bed. What would she do now? Sit there, rot?

No, she'd stand and walk around. She'd get those muscles in her legs working again. She was pacing. It might not have been much, but at least she was moving. The more she moved, the easier it'd be to get out when she initiated her plan, right?

She hoped so.


	3. Plans

The Twisted Souls Of Shattered Men,

That's What You Should Be Afraid Of.

They had found her a doctor. Instead of going to group, she was forced to talk to a doctor, one-on-one-with-guard-outside-the-door. The patient slumped in the chair, arms resting on the armrests, legs crossed in a lazy fashion. The doctor was going over the contents of a manila folder, she presumed it was her file. Fantastic, more questions they'd want answers for… And she could guess which one was first.

"Miss V-"

"Rae."

"Alright, Rae… Can you help me a second? I'm not sure if this is _your_ folder.." Rae felt the corners of her lips tug upwards, the doctor staring at her with a confused expression. Next was the big one. "It says…"

"You don't need to tell me, Doctor. That is the correct folder.."

"Then how are you able…?"

"Doctor, I fixed myself, that's all you need to know," Pale hands moved from the armrests, rubbing her legs near her knees. Talking about it made her legs tingle. A good sign, she supposed. Flexing her leg muscles, she let out a breath.

"But, I'm sure that people would love to hear how you're able to w-"

"I said… all you need to know… That means, no more questions on that topic," She spoke with a tone she hadn't used in, what felt like, ages. Her eyes almost glowed with anger, before she had calmed, her eyes becoming hollow once more.

"Perhaps we'll come back to that another time. So… Here's a basic, simple question. How was your life before coming to Arkham? Start from childhood and tell me up until…"

"Until I decided to… What, exactly?" Now she was amusing herself, curious. Had her doctor's loved ones been involved in her rampage? She doubted they would allow the good doctor to 'treat' her if this was the case. So maybe friends?

"Until you ended up here, Rae." Refusing to say what she had done. A nasty smirk caught her lips, as she leaned back.

"How about up until the point when I set an apartment on fire? Or the time I put bombs in all of the school in Gotham, though I did call the police… It's not my fault they thought I meant schools that were for those eighteen and under… A college is a school, too… Or maybe.."

"Just… up until whatever point you like.. Please, though, the beginning...?" These doctors loved to listen to people speak, didn't they? Well, she had gotten him a little riled. At least she'd be able to screw with him now. Usually, people who've done what she has had some horrible background story…

"Parents worked, made decent money, public schools, wasn't popular, wasn't picked on. Skipped out on prom, for obvious reasons, graduated early. Got tired and _fixed_ myself. Though, there are consequences…" She let out a snort, "They don't like me sitting for too long, they get achy, sore, then slowly start to work again, if you haven't noticed. No one knew, for a while, and I was not a suspect... Because how could someone in that position do any of those things…" She could feel something bubbling inside of her. Perhaps this was because she had never really… talked about herself, at least in this manner. Maybe it was because she was having… fun, talking like this, to someone. "But all good things come to an end, right?" She let out a laugh, though it sounded more like a scoff. "Got caught, by Batman… Or is it The Batman…?" Her eyes ran over the pencil the doctor was using to scribble his notes down. A bit of anger found it's way to her eyes. Like the other doctor, she hated when people wrote shit about her. She pushed those thoughts back. "Anything else?"

"... Why did to chose to set fire to an apartment building, blow up schools...?"

"Because. I love to see how people react."

A knock interrupted the doctor's next question. He let out a sigh and called for whomever it was to come in.

"Sorry to interrupt, doctor, but Miss Vail's time is up, and Mister Crane is already here…"

"We were getting along so well, right, Doctor?" Rae felt her smirk grow a moment, rising, legs steadier than they had been, hands finding her hips. Looking back on her time there, she had been rather talkative, though, her being amused by the doctor's blank stares and semi-shocked expressions had helped her continue on. "Good bye, Doctor." She turned on her heels, meeting a guard outside, nearly knocking into a man taller than her, though he wasn't too tall by male-standards, she was sure. Her face went blank, and he shook his head.

The door was closing behind her when she heard Crane mutter, "Idiotic girl…"

That man was going to get it, before she broke out of this blasted place. He had touched her, unintentionally, but still, and then he had called her stupid…

Crane would go down. He was number two on her list.

In her 'room', her legs hung over the side of her bed, swinging. Hands gripped the metal of the bed, eyes watching. Someone would be in soon, with pills. They always wanted to shove something down her throat. Jerks. How could she get those two imbeciles before she planned her escape? Dance in front of them, in their cells, and then make a run for it? She could do that. But no, she wanted something violent. And she sucked at dancing. But how?

A male-nurse, this time, opened her door, bringing in a tiny dixie cup, no doubt there was some sort of pill inside. Grand, she called that one. She had figured, after her show, she'd be given meds. He sat the tray down, then looked at her.

She stared back.

Staring contest… 3… 2… He blinked. Sucker.

"I have to make sure you take your pills. Sorry if you get tired after taking them, it's a side effect."

"I didn't know I was assigned any yet. I don't want them. What if I'm allergic?" Frown, stare.

The nurse frowned right back, "Your medical history didn't say anything about you being allergic to these, Penicillin, yeah, but not this. So, if you could hurry, I've got other patients to attend to…"

Her eyes narrowed, popping the pills into her mouth, opening her mouth wide for him to see.

"Good." He turned and took off, not wasting his words on a 'crazy'. Her eyes narrowed. He paused and turned back, looking at her, "A guard will escort you to dinner."

She did not want to put up with the other patients. Though… maybe this was a good time to get back at those two… When the nurse was gone, she spat the pills into her hand, tucking them into the waistband of the pants. The pills made people sleepy, or the nurse said it was a 'side effect', but maybe it would be enough to screw with those two. Possibly react negatively with their medications? That would be amusing. She smiled. She'd have to put it into their food. They weren't colorful, and neither was the food, so she hoped the additions to their meals would go unnoticed.

Rising to her feet, she nodded to a guard as he neared the door, letting her out.

He seemed on edge. Oh yes.

She was still smiling.

Too bad. He'd have to deal with it.

_Sorry for the suck chapter. XD I'll do better next chapter. _

_Also, not going to lie, reviews make me really eager to make a new chapter. They're awesome._


	4. A Friend

But If You Wish To Rid Yourself Of The Cruel Man,

Find A Good Place To Hide The Body.

Getting the pills into their food wasn't as hard as she had thought it would've been. Tapping one shoulder of the Joker's, slipping the pill in on his other side when Harley wasn't looking. Isley smirked but didn't say anything. Glad to know that there was more than one who wasn't a fan of the idiotic clown.

Now, for Crane.

After she had a tray of food, she sat across from him. Her eyes didn't make contact with him at all, instead looking over the table they were sitting at. No one else was sitting there, a good sign, but the tables themselves reminded her of high school. Long tables with seats attached, so you couldn't beat someone over the head with a chair. Oh poo.

Her gaze finally met his, pausing a moment to notice how… feminine he was. Give him a pair of breasts and let him grow out his hair and he'd pass for a girl. Heck, he could probably do that now, without those. Her smirk returned, to which he responded with a look of mild curiosity, before returning to his food. He was focused on his food, perhaps he had watched her put a pill in Joker's meal? Probably, she hadn't been watching out for him.

She kept the other pill tucked in the waistband of her pants, picking up her spoon. The meal tonight was a chicken/rice creation that had absolutely no color to it, and she doubted the cooks had seasoned any of it. Taking a bite and she had confirmed her thoughts, grimacing. They complained that she wasn't eating enough, and then they serve some bland tasting food.

"Pretend it's something else."

The voice surprised her, eyes shifting to gaze at the one sitting across from her, "… What?"

"Pretend the food is something else. Mind over matter. Thing spaghetti, taste spaghetti."

Her brow quirked, not asking him a question aloud, instead was using her eyes to. He didn't seem to get it. She wouldn't voice it out loud, so she wasn't going to get an answer. Which irritated her. Oh well, she'd have to live with it.

An attempt at what he had suggested, and it wasn't helping. She heard a light chuckle. Narrowing her eyes, she stared at him. Crane was giving her a bored-but-amused look. Heat rose to her face, not from embarrassment, but from anger. This place was pissing her off more and more each second.

"Oh, by the way… Don't try what you did with Joker," Crane curled his lips into a smile, then went back to his food.

He had seen her. She had already thought he might have, but he confirmed it. This made her angrier, before acting on her emotions, she took a breath, allowing herself a second or two to calm down.

Error: Over heating. Action Taken: Cool down.

Running her hand through her hair, tugging at the ends a moment before letting her hand drop, she resumed eating. Well, at least one of the two would, possibly, be drugged. If the side effects kicked in. She had hoped so. It was too early to know if the effects would… effect him.

The food went down and stayed down. Now it was time to head back to their rooms. Stretching her legs as she stood, she kept quiet, thinking. Her eyes drifted to the Joker, who seemed to be in a fog, a smirk stretching across her lips. Good. At least he'd be one less person she'd have to deal with. If he slept in, perhaps later that night, she'd make her escape? Sounded like a plan.

A loud noise woke her. Guards running, an alarm going off. What was going on? Was someone escaping?! This was her night to escape and no one else's! An almost inhuman noise escaped her, the girl rising, moving quickly to her door/window. She smacked her fists against it, trying to gain someone's attention. A few of the others that were locked up were talking, though she couldn't decipher the words.

Then there was smoke. Smoke. Fire. Fire! Her eyes widened, fear found in the depths. No one wanted to burn. Would the guards notice? Would they allow them to leave in this state of panic? She hoped so, otherwise their 'care' sucked. Someone was shouting. Yelling.

A guard was at her door, good. He opened it, grabbing her by her arm, pulling her along with the crowd, several others were receiving the same treatment, and she even noted a half-awake Joker being pulled along. He had a mask on, so did the others. Why did they have masks? Why?

She squirms at the contact of the guard's hand when he squeezes, as if reassuring himself she hadn't taken off too when he was looking the other way. Her hand went over her mouth, hoping to keep some of the smoke out of her lungs.

"What's going on?" At first, she wasn't sure he had heard her, he wouldn't look at her at first. But when he did, he gave her a sharp look, keeping them moving.

"Crane escape-"

"Bastard!" She had cut him off, another noise leaving her lips. This was HER night, not HIS. HER'S! With a sudden strength she hadn't known she had, she tore her arm from the guard, then leaned back and smashed her foot into his side. He doubled over, and she was off, other guards not going after her, having their hands full with, now rowdy, criminals. She was thankful for that. But how to get out? She doubted that she could run past the nurses and they'd let her pass, especially in this situation.

Action Taken: Do what she had planned to in the first place. Escape. The way she had planned earlier. A devious grin caught her lips, the girl exploding with an amazing amount of energy, she made a quick turn towards the entrance she was brought in her first night there. Unfortunately, her tools of choice weren't here, instead they were at the police station. Her feet slowed as she neared the entrance, eyes growing wary, noting there wasn't anyone around, or at least, no one was visible.

The smoke seemed more… she wasn't sure what the word was, potent here? No, there was just more… It was a fire, correct? Her eyes grew wider, searching for a source for the smoke.

"Miss Vail," She spun to meet face to face with a man in a burlap, stitched up mask, "I'm surprised…"

Taking a step back, Rae frowned at the man, at Crane, "… And why are you surprised, Crane?"

"Dr. Crane, if you would," She could imagine the look on his face as he spoke.

"Answer the question, Dr. Crane."

"I'm surprised you haven't succumbed to the effects of the Fear Toxin. Though, the toxin in the air isn't a direct dosage, but you've yet to…" She took a breath, her eyes becoming larger, maggots began to appear on his mask. She took a few steps back. She could hear the sound of his smile in his voice as he spoke, "Ah, there we go…"

Fear toxin, she had heard of it. Anyone in Gotham had heard of it, it made your head funny, it made you see things that weren't there, fears. Anything that made you afraid. Everyone had fears, Rae had fears. Her eyes swept to her pants, no longer seeing the fabric below her knees, instead seeing her legs, the flesh falling off, muscle falling off. She collapsed, scratching at the floor, trying to put her legs back together, silent as could be.

"Quiet when facing your fears, most would be screaming by now," The masked maniac was now standing over her. She ignored him, still trying to piece her legs back together. She could feel her legs all together, but the mind, the mind was a powerful thing. Her hands began to feel sticky, surely the blood on her hands was no longer an illusion. Scratch, scratch. Tear. Try to fit the puzzle back together. "Scream."

"No," Her voice was down to a whisper and it was shaky.

"SCREAM!" And he was in front of her, the wicked mask staring her dead in her horror filled eyes. Maggots, they were pouring from the mask, pouring, onto her legs, and they were eating…

"NO!" Her hands scratched at the maggots. At her legs. At the maggots. Goosebumps down her arms. Gulping down air. Maggots.

He let out a sigh, rising to his full height, staring down at her, letting out a chuckle. And then he was gone. But the maggots. They were still there. Squirming in the chunks of flesh she was trying to put back onto her legs.

The doors behind her, she had been so close, so close, burst open. Too bad for the Batman, Crane was gone. And all that he left behind was a bloody mess that was Rae.

"Where is he?!" Gravely voice, eyes stayed down, not wanting to see another horrifying sight, no more maggots, no more monsters. Rae had enough to worry about with the maggots.

"No. Gone. Left. Get'emoff!!!!" Gloved hands grasped her wrists. Eyes stayed down. One hand let her go and pulled something out. There was a sharp sting to the junction where her the lower and upper arms met, the illusion fading. Now she could see the claw marks, the blood seeping through her pant legs.

Her body shook. She wanted that toxin, not to use, obviously, to use on others, even after seeing how it worked firsthand. "Stay here, I have to find the guards." And the Batman was gone.

Too bad she would be gone before he came back. Now the air was vented, now she was able to think clearly, now the maggots were gone… She let out a breath, biting the inside of her cheek as she forced herself to her feet, a whine echoing in the empty space. The legs, a set back, she'd have to go find some sort of medical supplies before she hid. Where to hide? She didn't know many people, and her parents would turn her in. Wobbling out the front of Arkham, she was glad the police had yet to arrive.

The police station, would they be out making sure no one had escaped? She needed her gear, all her backups were at home.

She looked down the path that led up to Arkham and let out a whine. She needed to move fast, not get caught. Damn that Crane. She moved him to number one on the list. Biting her cheek again, she took off in a sprint.

A friend's name to mind when she was running, now running through the Narrows, waiting for some lurker to pounce on her in her condition. A friend who didn't live in the Narrows, but that didn't mean she couldn't get there. Did cabs even run into Narrows?! Apparently not, because none were popping up.

So she'd have to get out of the Narrows before she could get a decent cab. Keep running, keep running. She'd probably have to wait until after she got to her friend's home to get some sufficient supplies that she would be able to clean her wounds with. She hoped that her friend would not turn her away. She doubted she would. Her friend was one of those 'help even if you are a convicted felon who's been in a crazy house for less than a week and has escaped and come to me bleeding' types. Yeah, insane loyalty.

The run out of the Narrows was hard, long, and it was almost dawn by the time she had reached her friend's street. This woman was lucky they were friends, or else Rae would be setting her apartment on fire after she left. Stumble. Stumble. She was out of breath and her body was shaking fully.

Outside of the front door of the apartment building, she pressed the buzzer for one of the rooms.

An irritated voice came after the third ring. "What the fuck do you want?"

Pressing the speaker button, Rae leaned in close, "Jenn. I need help."

"R-Rae?! Ju-just a second, I'll come get you!"

"Jenn, just buzz me in…"

"A-alright!"

Another buzzing noise and she opened the door, shutting it behind her. Two flights of stairs, she had to go up two flights of stairs. That was why she hadn't come here often, other than for Jenn to pick something up, or if she had help up the stairs. Ugh. She needed help now. She didn't want to look, but she was sure that her grey-white pants were now caked in blood. Maybe that was why she was feeling so dizzy.

Next thing she knew, she was on the floor, a familiar face staring down at her, slapping at her face.

"Rae! Wake up, wake up!"

"Jenn…" Her hand rose to block another slap, frowning at her friend. "Apartment. Please…?"

Jenn nodded her head, messy light brown locks falling into a state of further disarray. Slipping her arm around Jenn's shoulder, she allowed the other girl to pull her up, shifting her feet to help as best she could up the stairs. Moments ago, she wasn't too bad or she hadn't thought she was, but once that adrenaline ran out… She was going to sleep for a week.

"Come on, Rae, you can do it…" Jenn sounded like she was talking to herself more than Rae.

"Do you have anything so I can clean myself up, Jenn...?" Rae rested her head on her friend's shoulder. Despite the whole 'no touchy' thing, Jenn was a rare person in her book, and Rae didn't mind the contact. No, she wasn't gay for Jenn, or anything of that sort, but she was a friend that was good to her.

"I think so, if not, I can go run and grab some stuff…" Jenn wanted to ask questions, Rae could see it on her face, but she knew the other woman wouldn't. She wouldn't dare because she didn't want to believe the news stories, the court, and Rae's parents. She only wanted to believe that Rae had somehow fixed herself, made her better. Jenn didn't want to believe she had done the things the reporters claimed. It had to be someone else, but it wasn't.

"That would be a good idea…"

"How'd you get hurt?" Jenn looked over in time to see a deadly look, then nodded. Rae groaned, Jenn coming to a stop and shoving the door open. "Come on, let's get you to the bathroom."

The walk to the bathroom was a short one, Jenn left Rae sitting on the toilet lid, after helping remove her pants. Grimacing, Rae held her legs straight out to view the damage she had done. It looked gruesome, a terrible mess. There would definitely be scars. She could bet she left a few small chunks of flesh on the floor of the nuthouse, carving her legs up with her nails in an attempt to get non-existent maggots off. A shudder ran down her spine, remembering the hallucination.

Jenn returned, a first aid kid in hand, though she had a frown on her face, "There probably won't be enough in here for both of your legs… I'm going to need to run a couple blocks down the street," She paused, Rae waited for the question, "Will you be fine on your own, Rae…?"

"Yes, I will. Please, just hurry," She forced a smile, "I'll work with the things in the kit… I'm not going to just walk out of here, Jenn. I won't be gone when you get back, you know."

Her friend let out a breath of relief, then nodded. "That's all I ask, Rae. That's all I ask." She sat down the kit and headed off on her merry little way.

After she was gone, Rae made sure to wash whatever blood was left on her legs off before she began to clean the wounds.

The injured escapee shook her head, pulling the kit onto her lap, opening it and removing the peroxide. She shifted so her legs hung over the side of the bathtub.

Now this was going to hurt.

Unscrewing the lid and setting it on the bathroom sink counter, Rae leaned forward, holding one leg a little higher than the other. Pouring out a small stream of liquid, Rae found herself biting her cheek for the umpteenth time that night, morning, whatever. It hurt. She turned and would pour over the worse sections, then sat the peroxide bottle on the counter by it's lid, grabbing some white wrapping gauze. She leaned once more, hands spinning around her leg, keeping it tight, but not too tight. She didn't want to lose the feeling she had in her legs. That would make things difficult.

After she finished wrapping one leg, she moved onto the other, a tear slipping out of the corner of her eye this time, from the peroxide. A short while later, just after she had finished wrapping her other leg up to her knee, she heard keys at the door. Good, Jenn was back. She had already finished with her legs, but now she had someone to look at them later and make sure they weren't infected.

"Rae…" Jenn's voice soothed her nerves for some reason. Her eyes closed, a content expression on her face. "Oh, you're done! Well, come on, let's get you to bed. You look like you need the sleep." And Jenn swooped before Rae had a chance to open her eyes.

Woman was too strong, Rae noted mentally, being carried bridal style to Jenn's room, her arms crossed in a huff.

"Stop pouting. You think I'm going to let you walk around like that?" Jenn tsked, though Rae could see the smile on her face. "Alright!" Jenn dropped her on the bed, Rae bounced, startled.

"Let's get you some clothes to sleep in," Jenn began to rifle through her drawers. A blue tank top with a green frog on the chest was thrown at her, matching pants soon after. Tugging off her Arkham shirt, Rae dropped it to the floor, before pulling on the tank top, the pants soon after.

Slipping her legs gently under the covers, Rae glanced up at Jenn, flashing an awkward smile.

"Right, I'll leave you alone. But you're not sleeping the whole day, Rae. I'm waking you for lunch!" Jenn waved, exiting the room, pulling the door to an almost close.

The escapee rested her head on the pillow, letting her eyelids fall.

When she woke, if she was feeling better, she planned to go after Crane.

_Well! I was asked to write a longer chapter, and looky! It's almost as long as the last three put together! _

_Comments make me happy and make me write like this~!_


	5. No Notes

They Say The Night Is Darkest Just Before The Dawn,

Liars.

A crash woke Rae from her slumber with a start, almost expecting to be back in a toxin filled Arkham. Instinct made her throw her pillow, eyes shut. The sound of the pillow making contact with something, then the floor made Rae peek one eye open. "Oh… Sorry, Jenn." The other girl was standing there with a comical expression on her face, stuck between 'I'll kill you' and 'What the hell just happened?' Rae suppressed a laugh, her hand covering her mouth, before she moved her legs, letting out a strangled groan.

Jenn sprang to action, nearly tearing the blankets off of the bed, leaning down to inspect the wrapped up appendages. She made a tsk'ing noise, shaking her head. "We're going to have to change these soon."

"I know… Jenn, can I use your shower?" Shiney change of subject, Rae glanced up at her friend, who was giving her a surprised look. "I need to feel clean. I did a lot last night, and I just need to wash it off all, alright?" All right, that made no sense, but she didn't feel like making sense, she hadn't slept enough and woke up tweaking out.

"First, lunch, then shower, deal?" Jenn grinned, one of those 'you don't have a choice' grins. Rae simply nodded, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, forcing herself to stand. It hurt like a bitch, but she'd have to put up with it. Especially if she was going to go after that bastard Crane. She'd leave that very day, when Jenn was out; or else she'd never get to leave.

"Food, then shower. Deal," Slipping her arm around Jenn's shoulder, both headed out of the bedroom, past the bathroom, to the living room/kitchen. Food, real food, the scent of it slithered around her, Rae inhaling the smell as if her life depended on it. This was a good way to greet the morning after escaping a mental hospital. Hamburgers, not the prepattied kind, Jenn never made those. These had seasoning in it, and were hand pattied. Rae's mouth was watering.

Sitting on the couch, Jenn left Rae, then returned with two plates, each having their separate burger, a slice of cheese on each. Jenn's had a few veggies on it, but Rae's was plain. She was thankful for that. Veggies weren't her favorite. She snorted at a thought, 'Eat your veggies kid, or you'll grow up to be mass murdering psychopaths!' Right. That'd encourage kids to _not_ eat them. Jenn gave Rae a look, then went to her food, eating normally. Rae pigged down, though slowed after being told so by Jenn a few times.

And then Jenn began to speak, "So! You'll shower, I'll wrap you up and clean what you missed last night, and then you'll be back in bed!" Rae frowned, but nodded. She didn't need Jenn suspicious that she might run for it soon.

"If you need anything after that, you know all you have to do is yell. If I leave, I'll have my cell phone on me, you remember the number, right, Rae?"

"Jenn, I was in Arkham a week, not a year, I haven't forgotten your number," This statement made Jenn flinch. She'd rather pretend that Rae wasn't in Arkham, or something. Rae theorized that Jenn had already come up with a few stories in her head as to how she might have gotten hurt so badly on her legs, though none of them would have been true, especially if she wasn't including Arkham, Batman, and Crane into the equation.

There were a few minutes of awkward silence before Jenn's phone went off. Snatching it, she pulled it to her ear, swallowing the food she had in her mouth. "Hello?" Rae froze, not able to hear the words of the speaker, but able to tell whose voice it was. Her father. "Mister Vail? Did something happen?" Rae gazed to Jenn, trying to send a silent plea with her eyes. Jenn nodded absentmindedly, before continuing, "Rae's what?!" Well, at least she sounded convincing. "But I thought Arkham was.." Cut off, nod, nod. "No, sir, I haven't seen her, but I'll be sure to call you if I do! Sorry, bye."

Rae slumped back against the couch. So her parents had been notified. The news stations might have been to. Did they tell the names of the inmates who had escaped? "Jenn, turn on the TV."

"You don't need to see it," From the expression on Jenn's face, Rae knew. She hadn't been mentioned on the television, or at least her name hadn't.

"What'd you hear?" She asked the other girl, taking a bite from her burger, watching her friend with a careful eye.

"Well…" Jenn shut her eyes, setting down her burger. "The news said two inmates escaped, but the police are keeping their names quiet. Batman was there. That was about it."

Rae let out a breath. No mention of herself or Crane, yet. That would make things easier when walking around, no one would point and scream for Batman to save them. Well, not until after she set off a bomb or two.

Blinking a moment, she frowned. What had the news called her? She wasn't sure if they had come up with a name for her. That made her laugh. Maybe she'd have to come up with someone for herself. A bad-guy name. She laughed quietly to herself, Jenn sending her an odd look for it.

"Well, finish your food. The sooner you eat, the sooner you shower."

Rae finished off her burger as quickly as she could after that. Jenn helped her to the shower, then ran off, returning with clothes and a package of brand new panties. Rae perked a brow.

"You're _not_ wearing my underwear," Jenn smiled. "Basic set up for the bathroom, hot knob is hot, cold knob is cold. Pull the thingy for a shower, leave it alone for a bath. The plug's on the rim of the tub. Towels are under the sink." Jenn waved and then left.

Rae shook her head, disrobing, pausing a moment to peer at herself in the mirror. Gross. She looked horribly breakable, but she knew that already. Leaning down and gently pulling the wraps from around her legs, she grimaced at the sight of them. This was going to hurt, so she concluded a shower would be best. Yes, she'd have to stand, but at least if her wounds reopened she wouldn't be sitting in a pool of blood.

The shower was shorter than she expected, though it felt like an eternity. She had gotten into the shower about 12:40 and was about before 1:00. In the time that she was in the shower, Jenn had knocked on the door and said something about running to go grab groceries or something of that sort, and would be back shortly. And she would be, because no one had checked Rae's legs since they were first wrapped.

Since Jenn would be back soon, Rae had to work fast if she planned to leave right then, while Jenn was out of the house and not there to stop her. Dressing only her upper half, the shirt provided was a simple pale grey T-shirt that was a bit baggy on her, and also slipped on a pair of the panties. Hello Kitty. She would kill Jenn. But that would be later.

Rae had to hurry. Hurry. She searched the cupboards of the bathroom, in search of the supplies Jenn had bought that morning. Night. Whatever. Whenever.

Not bothering with the peroxide, knowing it would take too long, she began to wrap her legs in the bandages, then pulled on a pair of socks and finally, her pants. A pair of simple jeans. She'd need a sweatshirt and she'd blend in with the crowd, if there was a crowd. No one would look her way if she looked like a street hoodlum, except in hopes that she wouldn't take their wallet.

Stumbling out of the bathroom, _'Great, I'm back to this,'_ she went to the bedroom. A quick rummage through the closet, and she found the garment she was searching for.

And now? Now, it was time to look for Dr. Crane. It was time to find Dr. Crane and beat the living snot out of him. But how? She needed her toys, her fun little toys… But those were at the police station, and she was sure her home would be staked out. It didn't help that the young woman had yet to move out of her parents' house, due to them being so concerned over her… condition. They refused, actually, any time she attempted to. From the phone call earlier, she knew her parents had been notified of her escape. She'd have to get them somehow. Had to.

Tugging a bag from Jenn's closet, Rae hoped the other girl wouldn't mind too terribly, Rae moved back to the bathroom, snatching the first aid kit and placing it inside of the bag. Next she went to the kitchen, grabbing a loaf of bread. It went nicely in the bag, right next to the kit. That was all she'd need for now. If she needed anything else, she'd steal it. She _was_ criminally insane, after all.

The front door could cause her trouble, but going down the fire escape could hurt her more than help. Fire escape it was. She couldn't risk running into Jenn that way. It would be better to leave, no note, no nothing. As much as it made Rae look like a jerk, it'd probably worry Jenn more if she had left something.

Through the bedroom and out the window. The fire escape was shaky looking, felt even worse, but she was doing this to try and avoid Jenn, to go get her things, and to go beat the snot out of Dr. Crane. Climbing down the rickety stairs, she frowned when she realized she'd have to jump the last some-odd feet. Just her luck, right?

Rae braced herself, allowing her body to roll forward when she hit, arms blocking her face. "That wasn't… too bad," Came her quite mumble. She shoved herself up, brushing her jeans off a moment before pausing, dirt would make her blend in more, where there were people with suits, there was always a grummy person around. Today, she was that grummy person.

Not going to lie, there was going to be more, but towards the end of what there is, I got bummed, and don't want that to reflect in the story. Sorry so short and sh'tuff.

Next chapter, I promise, there will be some fun.


	6. The Bank

Babe, If You Hear My Name On The TV,

The City's Up In Lights.

As she had expected, she blended in to the crowds quite well, few looking her way, except maybe to sneer at her disdainfully. Perfect. Now, she had to get her things, somehow, from her parents'. Sneak up the fire escape? They'd be watching it. They didn't know about her hidden toys, but they had known that she might pop up. Now was the time Rae had realized she should've looked around Jenn's apartment for a gun to take with her. With that she could've held her parents up at gunpoint.

That thought made her smirk. Her father would shit himself. Gods, she should have looked for a gun. That would have been hilarious. Next time. If there was a next time.

She frowned, mentally kicking herself for thinking such a thing. She would beat Crane, show him how to really scare someone.

Hailing a cab, she nodded, slipping into the back of it. This would make things much simpler, and it would take less time than walking. Maybe she should just show up, get her stuff, and leave? Her parents would notify the police, but neither would touch her. That sounded good. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any cops there. Spouting out the address, she leaned back, staring at the scenery.

A block or so from the house and she told the driver to stop.

"That'll be-"

"Screw off." And she was out of the car, the driving cursing after her. She didn't have any cash on her, and even if she did, she wouldn't have paid, she would have saved it for something important. She could hear the voice of the driver, who had gotten out of the cab. She turned, giving him a blank look, before taking off into a run, wincing when the driver couldn't see her face.

Some people might've been surprised to find there was an area with houses, instead of apartments, in Gotham City. Not her, because she had lived there. Apartments were bothersome when one was in a wheel chair.

Rae almost crashed into the door, at the last second turning the doorknob, slamming the door shut behind her. Voices from inside of the house. They _were_ home. She wasn't about to wait for them to investigate. To her old room. Down the hall and third door on the right. Good, other than the police, no one had touched her room since she'd been in Arkham.

That would make things easier.

Rae smiled to herself, taking a step up onto her bed, hands rising above her head, lifting a tile from the ceiling. She had hated those plain tiles. Boring, they were boring. But at least she could hide things up there, and before anyone had figured out she had… fixed herself, no one would dare to look up there.

Palms brushing the upper parts of the tiles, before her fingertips bumped into a box. Good, it was still there. Grabbing the box, she pulled it down. A look of triumph.

"R-Raelyn!"

Only to disappear at the voice of her mother. Damn. Turning, Rae quirked a brow at her mother, frowning. "What?"

The brunette stared at her child with faint fear in her eyes. Rae would have it no other way. Hopping off of the bed, she let out a grunt when she landed. Glancing up, she realized there was now worry and pity in the woman's eyes. She let out a snarl, pushing past the woman, the box tucked under her arm.

Outside of her room was her father, his arm's crossed, a phone in one hand. "Raelyn Jacqueline Vail-"

Her hand pressed against his mouth, quicker than she thought she could move, and much faster than anything her father would've thought she would have done.

"Silence, old man. Call the cops, let them come, I won't be here," Her hand dropped and she listened as he let out a angry strangled noise. He wouldn't do anything. She was his child, his only child, and he wouldn't care do anything more than curse and called the police. But like she said, she wouldn't be there.

As she walked down the hall, she heard her mother's quiet sobs and her father's screams into the phone. Ah, lovely, her work here was done.

And then a hand was on her box. She turned, glaring at her father, who had attempted to snatch the box, her box of goodies, from her. "You are not leaving this house, Raelyn! And you're not getting whatever's in there!"

"What? You going to stop me?" She yanked the box from his grip, one hand slipping the lid of the box open, the box itself was somewhat like a toolbox, and her hand returned, a glove slipped over her hand, a miniature baseball back in her hand, pointed to her father's nose. "You've no idea what I'm capable of. And, yes, I am leaving…" She smiled a fake, sweet smile. "If you try and stop me, you'll _see_ what I'm capable of." Letting her arm fall to her side, bat still in hand, she turned and continued walking. "By the way, if you _are_ going to call the police, please wait until I'm off the property."

The next noises from her father were intelligible, her mother was sobbing. Perhaps she was still human, feeling a faint twinge at her heart. Well, too bad, she had a plan to carry out, and apologizing and turning into the perfect daughter for her mother was not part of the plan.

Damnit. The cab was still outside, the cab driver near the door when she exited. Brandishing her baseball bat again, she tilted her head at him. "I told you to screw off." Pressing her fingers into the bat, there was a crackle. The cab man paid no mind to this, continuing his advanced, demanding his money.

Pulling her arm back, she swung, the bat connecting with a sickening crack. The man's body twitched a few times before he fell, sparks shrinking back to the bat. To her side, the bat went again. Her grin grew into a Cheshire-like smile.

"Thank you for being my test subject," With those words, she passed the twitching, still alive, body of the cab driver. She found herself in front of the yellow cab, after a brief moment of thought, she then got into the cab, the driver's seat. Setting her bag to her side, she buckled herself in, glad that the cabby had left his car running.

If she only had a scanner so she could hear the police talking. That would make it easier to locate Scarecrow. Jonathan Crane. Whatever he wanted to be called.

An idea made the grin of her's grow further. Who said she'd have to search for him? Down the street she drove, letting out a devious chuckle.

Not an hour later did the young woman stroll into Gotham's First National Bank, a bat in each hand, a backpack on her back, stolen on the way there, of course. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, the girl not caring to cover her face.

"Alright, everyone!" The normally quiet girl's voice boomed in the quiet of the bank, eyes all turning to her, "This is a robbery. I'd love it if you would panic." A crackle like lightning rang out the room. "But I'm not too sure you'll be too fond of the result." The sadistic grin on her lips told the crowd she wasn't joking. "Now, get down and look pitiful." They did as they were instructed.

She strolled over to the counter, leaning over to watch the clerks. One's finger was hovering over a red button. Rae tilted her head, an amused expression crossing her features. "Go ahead, push it. I want people to come. And while you're at it. Get me the money." The pretty woman clerk did as she was told, pushing the button and then hurrying off to collect some cash.

It was time for the show.

She turned to the customers of the bank, tipping her head forward. "Anyone want to take a hit?"

A few of the men looked shakily at each other, before one of the younger of them rose. Good. He took a few steps forward, Rae stood with her arms held out, bats in her hands, though her wrists limp, looking very none threatening.

His arm pulled back. The fingers of her right hand squeezed the bat, a shot of white lightning striking the fellow, who fell to the floor.

"See? And that's why no one wants to be a hero." Her eyes gazed past the people to the front doors, staring through the glass. She grinned, the cops and the news crews had already shown up.

She aimed her bats at a few random civilians on the floor. "Get up." They hesitated, she narrowed her eyes. "I'm not going to ask again." They rose. "Stand around me." They did. "Good, now to the door."

The group surrounding her moved along with her, until they reached the door. "You, open it." She prodded a bat into his back, the man nearly pissing himself, though thankful to find that he hadn't been shocked. He opened the doors and she leaned up and whispered into his ear.

"Our captor has us held hostage! She will not let us go until the Scarecrow comes here. She says he'll come if he hears these words. 'I have to pay you back for my legs!' Please, do not try to enter. She will allow only one person entrance, at that point in time, she'll let us go!" He tried to speak as loud as he could, she could tell. Leaning back, she made sure to stay sunk below her hostages. Though, trouble. A woman at her side took off out the door.

"Janice!" The man in front of her had called.

Rae let out a growl, shoving her arm in between her man-puppet's arm and side, lightning striking the woman in the back. The woman fell limp, a jerk or two from her every few moments. "Back! Get back!" The crowd moved with her, backing away from the doors.

The man turned to her when they were a safe distance away, "Did… did you…"

"She's not dead. Knocked out, but not dead," Her brief response. She pulled away from them, moving to a table, setting the bats down, eyes watching the hostages. She pulled her backpack from her back, unzipping the top. Removing a few metal balls, Rae smiled to herself. There was a blue dot on the side of the spheres, she pushed one of them and tossed it towards the door. The sphere opened at its middle, flat end lying against the floor. It wasn't visible, but were anyone to try and enter, they would get quite a shock. Let that be Scarecrow's second warning not to mess with her, the first being the Janice woman who was out on the pavement, EMTs hurrying to her aid.

Rae had hoped that Scarecrow wouldn't try the front door, he wasn't stupid like that. There was probably some back door that he would enter. The police might have been staking it out. She was sure Crane's toxin would take care of them easily.

"Miss Vail," A voice from behind. He did not disappoint. She turned to face him, the hostages glancing to the door.

"Go. Press the blue button again and you'll be able to leave," She spoke quietly once more, not looking at the people as they quickly went to the door. She pulled her backpack onto her back, loosely grabbing her bats. "You came quick, Dr. Crane."

"I don't like to keep a lady… or a mongrel… waiting," She could hear the smirk in his voice, not able to see it through the mask. "Ready for another dose of medicine?"

She chose not to give a verbal answer. Instead she ran forward, smacking her bats together, then aiming them at the good doctor. He swiftly moved, the lighting crackling as it hit the service counter, a small fire staring.

"Is that all you have, Miss Vail? I'm disappointed," His chuckle infuriated her. She slid to a stop, shoulders tensing.

"Of course not, Dr. Crane. But it's best not to share all my secrets right-" A grunt as she threw one of the bats, the white streak of light going through her glove to her bat, towards him. A quiet yelp escaped the masked figure, even if he had not been hit directly, the lightning still had managed to shock his arm.

The toxin container on his wrist exploded.

Rae moved to cover her mouth, careful of her gloves, mouth buried into the sweatshirt sleeve. Her eyes stung a moment. _'Is that new?'_ The thought had distracted her long enough for—

--She was on the floor, trying to gather herself. What had happened?! Her gaze went upwards, catching the sight of the Scarecrow, the toxins once again taking control of her. Damnit! This wasn't the plan!

Now both bats were gone, though she still had her gloves, her main source.. She reached out as he knelt over her, his hands grasping her wrists, forcing her hands to go limp by pressing a pressure point. She let out a grunt, trying to tear her arms away from him.

"And here I thought you were going to pay me back…" Demonic voice. The maggots. No. Not maggots, this time. Rats. There were rats coming from the mask. Damnit. Damnit. "I wonder how you'd repay me if I did something…. Like… This." As he spoke he got closer, and suddenly, she felt clothe against her mouth.

She screamed, legs remembering that they could work, shot out hitting him in the groin. He fell back, grasping himself, as if it would help with the pain he had just felt.

She shoved herself up, glowering at him. The rats were there, gnawing, but she had bigger things to beat. She was focused this time. Focused. He was her target, not them, and she had just given her more incentive. "How would I pay… you… back..?" She let out a horrible laugh, her body trembling at the sights around her, though tried her best to ignore as she moved to the masked Doctor.

She leaned over him, bent at her waist, glaring, a twisted smile on her lips. "How? HOW?!" Both gloved hands reached for his hands. "This is how," Her fingers slid between his, fingers tightening around his hands, a shock running through him. In this fit of madness, she had forgotten that he, too, had legs that worked. So, she released him when she felt a shock run through her, his leg had smashed into her's.

She fell onto his legs, then her upper body went down, head smacking against the hard floor. Her hands rested on her stomach, no charges running through them. No doubt they had been shorted out by the self-electrocution.

Damnit.

She couldn't move, excluding a few muscle spasms, or when Crane would have one of his own.

Feeling herself fall into the darkness of unconsciousness, she had no doubt where she'd wake up.

Back to Arkham.

So sorry for the suck. Yeah, I promised you guys an actiony scene and my action scenes suck, I've discovered. Plus, I sort of hit writer's block on this story for the second half, which is why it took so long. Here's hoping you like it, though, yeah, if you don't, I totally understand. I was actually thinking about not posting it, but I doubt I could come up with anything better. Again, sorry.


	7. Loopy

The Day I Slipped Away,

No One Noticed.

The pounding was back. The lights were on, she could tell without opening her eyes, feeling the contrast between where the light fell on her, and where it didn't. Rolling onto her side, she frowned, her eyelids sliding open.

Back in her cell in Arkham. Or she figured it was her cell. It could have been a different one. She didn't know, nor did she really care.

Propping herself up on her elbows, she listened for the sounds of other inmates. Hearing the chatter and banter that went on between them, Rae let her eyelids drop. If she stayed quiet, none of them would realize she was awake, right?

Until it was time for whatever meal was being served, when a guard gazed into her room, and called for a nurse, asking whether or not the patient should be taken to the main dining hall. Crane's name was mentioned, and she felt like crap since she had probably woken up after him. Fuckin' grand.

She threw her legs over the side of her bed, the guard motioned her over. She paused before rising, looking at her legs, feeling the wraps around her legs. Ah, they had taken care of her legs? Good. Pushing herself up, she grimaced. The guard spoke, but his words were fuzzy. This made her wonder what they had pumped into her when they had found her.

Stumbling over to the door, another mental inquiry, this over if it was her legs or what they had put in her that made her stumble, and he unlocked the door, guiding her to the cafeteria. _'This will be interesting,'_ she thought with a faint grin. Instead of her going to get her meal, the guard had made her sit down and went to get her meal. Her glossy eyes shifted over the room. She wasn't sitting at a table with anyone, instead she was sitting by herself, and the others separated into their own little groups. This made her think back to high school, the stupid little cliques.

Her lips parted and loud laughter escaped her. Everyone in the room stopped and gazed at her. A few spared irritated glances, others were genuinely curious as to what made the girl laugh. Truth be told, when she was out, and when they were properly looking over her legs, they had given her a few pain killers. Rae handled medicine funny.

The guard sat her food down in front of her, giving her an odd look, before taking off. Rae began to eat, letting out a quiet giggle every now and then. Her eyes scoped over the room, pausing on Crane. Her laughter rose to a loud volume once more. He looked irritated, having caught her laughing at him. Joker must've said something insulting about it, because Crane sent a look the scarred man's way.

Joker then rose from his seat, Harley surprisingly absent, and went to her table, bringing his tray with him. Slapping the tray down, he gave his wicked smile, sitting across from her. "So, doll face, wha-at exactly did you do to get the both of ya' locked back up?" He rested his elbows on the table, his chin resting on his hands.

Rae let out a snort, watching Joker's face. He'd be cute if he weren't such an ass and didn't have the scars. Too bad. Under the effects of the medicine, she didn't really feel like holding out like she normally would, "You wouldn't believe it, silly clown!"

"Oh? Try me."

"Can't believe the jerk… I called him out when I was robbing a bank, ya know?" At this, he nodded. She mimicked his action, continuing, "But! We fight, rah rah rah.." Her hands swayed when she spoke, Joker's eyes on her hands, several eyes watching the two, listening intently as she spoke, "And Crane knocks me down, and I don't have my bats any more… Baseball bats, not bats bats… Ew," Her nose crinkled at the thought. "And I end up kicking him in the crotch, ya' know?" At this Joker looked amused. Rae didn't notice Jonathan Crane had risen and was nearing their table. "And I shocked his ass! Knocked him onto the floor, I did! Forgot he could shock me back if he touched me…" She looked sadly down at the table. Crane stood behind Joker, as if waiting for something else.

Rae looked up from the table, spotting the crystal blue eyes of the man standing behind the Joker. She frowned, a memory had escaped her, and she hadn't shared it. "That's right! I forgot, you bastard!" And she was, shakily, on her feet, pointing at Crane. "I can't believe it! You fuckin-"

"Miss Vail! Please calm down and finish your food, you're upsetting some of the other patients," A guard interrupted her.

Her eyes narrowed at the guard, then at Crane. "Fine. Fine." She plopped down into her seat, glaring intensely at Crane.

Joker's smile spread, "So, what did he do, doll face?"

Rae's eyes caught Joker's, and she stuck her tongue out at him. "Not going to tell _you_!" Joker looked pissed for a moment, then let out a laugh, shaking his head.

"I'll get it outta' ya' later, o-kay?" And he got up and walked back to his table, Harley walking into the room seconds after he had sat down. Crane took his place.

"Keep your mouth shut about it, all right?"

"About what?" Speaking in a teasing tone, Rae batted her eyes innocently at him. He gave her a dirty look.

"Just don't talk about it, all right? That _wasn't_ me. Nor would I ever do that," He sneered then quickly left.

A smirk found her lips, the girl quirked an eyebrow at his retreating form, "So it wasn't you that kissed me in the bank?" All eyes were on her again.

Crane froze, not turning to face her, stuck there, as if her words had forced him to freeze. Crane let out a chuckle and shook his head, "No, I would not have done anything like that, let alone with _you_." Crane turned and sent Rae a look of malice. He turned away and went back to eating. The noise level of the cafeteria skyrocketed. Rae began to laugh again, and soon a nurse came and collected her.

She soon found herself in front of her doctor, the individual doctor, one-on-one time. Haha. It wasn't time for therapy. Did they want to question her about her escape? What she did? Who might have died in the process? Sitting in front of her shrink, slumped in the chair, smiling at him.

"Well, Rae… I have to say, I'm disappointed that you took off like that," The doctor shook his head, letting out a sigh.

"Pfft. You should've seen my parents if you wanted to see real disappointment."

"Oh? Did you see them while you were out?" Ha, while she was out? Seriously? He made it sound like she had taken a day off. Funny man, he was.

"Yes, I saw them. Mom cried, Dad was furious, blah, blah, blaaah," She slumped further into the chair, shifting to try and find a comfortable position to sit in. It was useless, but she kept trying.

"Oh. Did you see anyone else while you were out, Rae?" Her eyes narrowed at him, now sitting in the chair with her legs over one of the armrests, elbows resting against the other, though she quickly moved out of it.

"Oh! I saw a lot of people, police, hostages…"

"Anyone you knew before you came to Arkham, Rae."

"One person. But I'm not telling you her name, she'll get in trouble for helping me," Rae shot him a look, crossing her arms once more.

"Oh, was she the one who helped you with your legs…?"

"Different topic, doc."

"All right," The doctor smiled, "What happened in the bank, Rae?"

Rae sat up a little at the question, blinking at him, "Ah? Crane didn't tell ya'? That's funny." She snickered. "Ya were probably given the police reports, right? Maybe even surveillance tapes from the bank... So ya know, right? No big. No big."

"Not what I meant to ask, Rae… Why did you change your… style, for lack of a better word? Before this, you set things on fire or blew things up, but never robbed anything, or at least, to my knowledge. What made you change?" That caught her off guard for a moment. "You did say you did what you've done because you like to see the reactions of others. This seemed… different."

Rae sat up straight, glowering at the man sitting behind his neat little desk, her file, as well as others, lying on his desk, beneath his notepad. "It was fun. It's as simple as that, I got to see the reactions of the hostages, the police, and news crew. I also got to see Crane respond, react, to my calling him. There was _nothing_ more to it."

The doctor smiled to himself, scribbling some notes down. That got her angry.

"What the hell are you writing?! There was nothing other than that!" She rose, her head becoming dizzy, the girl falling back into the chair. "Jerk doctor."

"I think it's best if you went back to your room now, Rae," The doctor smiled. A guard came in and collected her.

That's how she ended up back in her room, sitting on her bed, mumbling obscenities to herself, clutching her blanket in her hand. She had only wanted to go to the bank to pay Crane back. To get back at him, for the toxin, possibly steal some of it and use it on others.

What she had told the doctor was bullshit, she hadn't cared about the hostages, at least not enough to kill them. Right before death, it seemed, people were their real selves. They begged, they cried, they cursed, got mad... But she wasn't at the bank to see the people squirm. She was there to attract Crane's attention, draw him in, and destroy him. Of course, Crane had to ruin it.

She brushed the back of her wrist against her mouth, glowering at her hand as if she was a five-year-old and her hand was a boy with cooties. She then wiped her wrist on her mattress. She _was_ going to destroy Crane. No matter what.

Her eyelids drooped, telling her she needed to sleep. Complying, she grumbled, slipping beneath her covers, pulling them up to her chin. Screw the pills, meals, and the other patients, she wanted to sleep, and they, plus the nurses and the guards, weren't going to stop her.

_Really wish I had made this longer, but I need sleep. Bleh. Sorry, loves. Slow chapter. Though Rae acts goofy on meds. Yeah, fun times~. Anyways, comment, or whatever. It motivates me, and such. Hearts to you, my readers. I'll write the next chapter soon._


	8. Crazies

Its Funny What You Can See,

When You're As Blind As A Bat.

* * *

Darkness. Total darkness. Every breath she exhaled echoed in the vast space she had been left to float in.

Where was she?

Why was she here?

She shut her eyes, or were they shut already?... Curling into herself.

Something stroked her spine. She let out a gasp then attempted to arch her body away from the touch, now finding it hard to move about, further than the length of her limbs. The light brushes turned to arms slipping around her waist, pulling her until her back bumped against something solid.

She tried to turn and gaze at whomever had grabbed her, but couldn't see his face. She knew it was a guy, she just knew.

Fingers slipped up the front of her shirt, lighting rubbing circles into her skin. She shifted uncomfortably, squirming against the person. She jumped when she felt something wet and warm on the crook of her neck, pulling away with strength she didn't possess moments ago. She turned to face the culprit, eyes going wide.

* * *

And that was when she woke up gasping out the culprit's name, sweating.

"Aww, did the baby wake up from her wet dream?"

Joker's voice floated through the darkness of Arkham's halls. She was glad that it wasn't as dark as it was in her dreams, though, or she would definitely be freaking out.

"Wasn't a wet dream, Joker. Nightmare. Nightmare," She shook, rolling onto her side, shutting her eyes, and hoping to drift into a dreamless slumber.

"Rih-ight. So when ya' said 'Jonathan!' you weren't dreaming anything that made you make those funny little noises," Joker spoke in a teasing manner. Rae wondered whether or not she had been making noises, she hadn't known Joker that well, nor did she ever plan on knowing him more so than she already did.

She stayed silent a moment, then hissed quietly, "Keep your mouth shut about it, Joker, or I'll skin you alive." Sleep couldn't come soon enough.

The Joker chuckling made her uneasy as she fell into a light slumber.

The morning went along fine, though guards kept a close eye on her, and she had kept her head down a lot, thanks to the memories of her drugged up self from the day before, and the dream…

Yup, everything was fine. No one had bothered her, including the Joker and Crane, which was making that day a pretty good one…

Until she was informed she would be going to group, not one-on-one time with Doctor Wotsit.

And that's how she was stuck sitting in the uncomfortable plastic seat, arms crossed, slumped. I was next to the weird man who liked Wonderland stories too much and the doctor. Jonathan Crane was oddly missing. Maybe the doctors figured that since the two had fought and the result was them returning to Arkham they wouldn't really like to see each other. At least, not right away. Rae let out a breath of relief, not wanting to have to deal with the 'Scarecrow'. Group went as normal as it could with Joker knowing what Rae denies she dreamt about, though he never outright said it, the other 'bad guys' were giving her smug little looks.

Thankfully, after group, there was a good surprise for her. The doctor had called to her and asked that she stay a few seconds longer while the others were being escorted back.

"Rae, normally, we wouldn't allow this, but we, the Dr. Fin and I, believe that if we allow this to happen that you might think twice about escaping the facility again…" Rae quirked a brow, Dr. Fin? Who was doctor.. Oh. One-on-one doctor, Mr. Wotsit. She gave the group doctor a look.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, normally, your visitation rights would be taken away, not including family members, due to your escaping… But, a young woman called earlier and asked if she could come and visit you. We think it would be beneficial to your recovery if she were to visit."

Rae felt her lips curl into a light smile. Jenn, she bet. Her mother wasn't about to pop in for a visit, and after her little 'tiff' with her father, he definitely wasn't going to visit. Despite not wanting to believe that Rae was in there, the girl was going to come visit her anyway? That was sweet of her.

The smile dropped, "I… would like to see Jenn." Not that she wanted to 'recover'. If she recovered, she bet she'd be transferred to a prison. That was not a good plan.

The doctor smiled. "Good, she said she'll be here around the time you're scheduled for rec. room time. I'm not going to put you two in a room, instead she'll be allowed into the rec. room along with you. Don't give me that look, Rae," Rae hadn't realized she was giving the doctor a look, but she was. "Your friend sounded as if she didn't believe your situation and she needs to in order to really help you make progress. There will be additional guards in the room in case the others get rowdy. Now go, it's almost rec. time, so go." The doctor waved his hand in an almost teasing fashion.

Rae left the room, a little excited and worried at the same time. Jenn would probably be upset. Rae frowned.

Rec. time came quickly enough, Rae found herself walking alongside a guard to the room, and escorted to the room she rather disliked.

Instead of going anywhere near the television, where Joker, Ivy, and Harley were occupying their time, Rae went near the book self and sat down at a table that had been pushed up against the wall, propping her feet up on another chair beside her.

Others were giving her odd looks. Not too far away from her sat Crane. Oh, so they separated them for Group, but forgot that they shared Rec. Room time? Failures. She let out a little laugh, eyes turning to the door when it creaked open slowly.

The brown haired girl entered the room, garbed in jeans and a t-shirt. Rae watched her glance over the group, then quickly hurry over to Rae, a look of anxiety and relief on her face.

Rae rose, holding her arms open at the other one as if to embrace the other. Jenn stopped short.

SMACK.

Rae's hand went to her cheek, a burning sensation left from the contact of Jenn's hand to her face. She let out a laugh.

"I deserved that, huh?" Jenn nodded. Now the others were keeping a closer eye on the two, pretending that they weren't. Crane looked over the top of a book he was reading, Joker would shift his gaze slightly in their direction. Harley would blatantly stare at them. Ivy didn't seem to give a crap.

Jenn embraced Rae, Rae letting out a squeak, blushing at the noise a moment. When Jenn released her, Rae awkwardly sat down, Jenn following her actions.

"So… You came to visit… That's…. nice?" Rae shifted in her seat. Jenn did, too, for completely different reasons.

"Yeah… Uh," Jenn leaned in, "Do we have to talk in here?" When Rae nodded, Jenn twitched faintly, pouting.

Both girls jumped when a hand rested on their shoulders.

"Now girls! Th-is isn't how friends should talk!" A scarred face poked between theirs, making both girls flinch away from him.

Joker pouted, leaning closer to Jenn, "Oh? Do the scars scare you?" A devious smile caught his mouth, "Wanna learn how I got these scars?"

A guard was there, arms crossed. "Joker, go watch television and leave them alone."

"Aww, but Franklin!" The guard squirmed. "This is rec. time, I can talk to whomever I want to right now! Are you going to try and take that away from me?"

Rae frowned, she doubted this would end well. Now that Joker had moved from the space between her and Jenn, she leaned over, whispering faintly, "Get near a guard, now. By the door if you can."

Jenn hesitated before she nodded and quietly slipped away from the scene that was about to occur.

"Joker, Miss Vail's friend came to speak with her, not with you."

"But she's in the rec. room, so she's fair game, isn't she?" Joker seemed to become agitated.

Rae shook her head, brushing a few of her dark red strands from her face, "She doesn't want to be friends with a psycho anyway, Joker, so screw off, aye?" Okay, so she was provoking this one.

Joker froze, his mouth twitching. He turned to her, narrowed gaze catching her's, "I'm not crazy. I'm n-not a psycho. Got that, little girl?"

"Plus, she must want to be friends with psychos, Miss Vail, if she's here to see you," And now Crane was putting his input in, egging them both on. Fury built up inside of Rae for a moment, eyes shifting from Crane to Jenn.

Jenn couldn't see her go ape-shit on these guys, Rae would feel horrible if Jenn saw that.

Screw it.

She'd deal with that later.

Rae rose from her chair, shaking slightly. "Crane.. Joker…" A crazed gleam caught her eye, the guards that were not near them were now closing in, excluding the one Jenn had gone to, who was not hurrying her out of the room and was probably going to go get nurses for sedatives.

The three villains were now all standing, Harley being held back by Ivy. Crane began to move towards the door, as if he hadn't said anything to incur anyone's wrath.

Rae shoved past Joker, a punch aimed to hit Crane's shoulder caused him to stumble forward. Joker took this time to snatch at Rae's wrist, yanking her back to him.

"Do NOT call me crazy!" A crack was heard when Joker's hand hit her chin, the girl tripping backwards and into the arms of Crane.

"You two are meant for each other!" The Joker let out a laugh, no longer amused since he got his punch in.

Crane, confused by Joker's words, stared at the man's back a moment, holding onto Rae's shoulders unintentionally.

Rae jerked herself from Crane's grip, lunging at Joker, knocking him face down into the ground. "Shut up, you bastard!" Joker laughed as Rae's punches rained down on his back. And then the guards snapped out of whatever they were stuck in, leaping to pull Rae off of Joker's back, pull Joker off the floor, make sure he wasn't going to attack. One held onto the kicking Rae, another watching over Joker closely, and a third keeping an eye on Crane.

The other two were calm, and quickly taken back to their rooms. After they were out of the room, Rae let herself go limp. The after headache of sedatives was not worth the fight if no one was there to fight with. A nurse arrived, ready with a needle in hand, the guard that had escorted Jenn out of the room holding two more, just in case. Seeing that she wasn't needed, the nurse left, taking the guard with her.

Rae felt her eyes burn. She hadn't really expected to lose her cool, but she hadn't expected to taunt anyone either, though the Joker had it coming. She shut her eyes, doubting Jenn would be back, or that the asylum would allow her to have visitors again.

The guard released Rae, only for the girl's legs to buckle.

Error, error.

That's how she wound up on the floor, curling into the fetal position, eyes clamped shut.

Action: Manual Stand-By.

The guards gave each other confused looks, working on clearing out the remaining patients. Rec. time had been cut short. Rae listened though stayed silent as they called a doctor to come in.

"Rae… Are you all right?" The voice was that of Dr. Wotsit, or, as everyone else knew him as, Dr. Fin. "Rae, say something."

Action: Remain on Stand-By.

"Rae, we have to get you off of the floor, at least. Can you do that?"

Action: Remain on Stand-By.

"We're going to need to get a cot in here to move her, or a wheel chair," Dr. Fin whispered to someone. A guard probably. Maybe a nurse. Rae kept her eyes shut. The sound of rubber squeaking on the floor entered the room. Two sets of warm hands lifted her, setting her onto something that felt like a bed, but not as comfy. A gurney, or cot, or whatever.

Action: Remain on Stand-By.

"What's wrong with her?"

"I think she might be having a breakdown. A lot has happened these past few days, and they might have all just caught up with her."

"Dr. Fin, what should we do?"

"Let's take her to the infirmary for now."

Hot streaks were on her cheeks. Why? She was on Stand-By. She didn't do anything on Stand-By. She didn't move, she didn't speak, she didn't look, and she barely felt or listened… Had they dripped something onto her face?

She was moving. Doors opened, doors closed. Shoes echoed in the hallways, whispers.

She wanted Jenn back.

Error: Leak in the System. Action Taken?

She didn't know.

Her brain felt foggy, fuzzy even. She didn't want to think.

Action Taken?

System Shut Down. System Shut Down.

* * *

Strands of grey and black filled the sky, red hidden behind the strands.

She sat at a circular table at the top of a hill. She wore clothes that she would never wear in her life. Victorian era clothing, shades of green, a tight corset she could barely breath in.

Across from her sat a man, he wore a mask that reminded her of a scarecrow. He wore a suit, no tie, instead there was a green ribbon where it should have been.

To her right sat a woman in similar clothing to her own, though in shades of blue, a blank mask with a teardrop near where the left eye would have been.

To her left sat another man, a mask with a red smile sloppily painted on it. Like the other man, he too wore a suit, no tie. His ribbon, though, was blue, one of the shades that the woman to her left wore.

In front of them all sat a tea set, each of them filled. She gingerly lifted her glass to her lips, taking a sip. The others followed her actions.

Somewhere in the distance, the Funeral March played.

She spat the contents of her cup out, staining the white tablecloth a beautiful shade of crimson.

She gazed at the rest of the tea party, watching them all drinking the contents of the cups as if there was nothing wrong.

The man with the green ribbon and scarecrow mask cocked his head to the left a little, "Oh, Miss, is there anything the matter with your drink?"

Words escaped her, lips attempting to part. Her hand rose to her lips, finding them stitched closed. She didn't find this odd, instead she shook her head at him, lifting her cup again. Now, she spilled her 'drink' down the front of her. She rose, as did the man with the green ribbon.

The other two nodded to each other, turning to dust, a strong wind blowing them both away.

She felt her face burn, the green ribbon man coming to her side of the table with his napkin, gingerly wiping away what was spilled down her dress.

"And it was such a beautiful gown, was it not, Miss?"

Against her will, it seemed, she gazed down at the dress and nodded in agreement. Her eyes swept upwards to his mask, hands rising. He stopped his attempt to rid her dress of the red mess.

She could hear a smile in his next words as her fingers touched the edges of his mask.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Miss?"

She nodded. He made no move to stop her, so she lifted the mask from his face…

* * *

_Right! So! Dreams. I liked writing the dreams, so I started and ended with them. Yay! Right, so shiney change of subject, aye? Comments are appreciated and motivate me to write better, longer chapters sooner._

_Hope you liked this chapter. It sort of bothered me halfway through and then again at the end, so bleh. I do plan on having something fun happen next chapter, so yay~._


	9. Tears And Burlap

In the Dark of the Night,

She'll meet Her Sweetest Dreams,

And Darkest Fears.

* * *

She had woken in the infirmary, before she could remove the mask of the man in her dreams, though she had a vague idea of who it was. Apparently, she shut herself off. Vague memories of a doctor whispering that the days before she passed out might have been too much for her had been mostly correct. She just overloaded and needed a night to untangle the 'wires'.

A good thing had come out of it though.

The dreams stopped after that night. She was thankful. It had been days since she'd actually had a 'dream'. Jenn hadn't been allowed to visit since the scene the boys and Rae had made that day. Surprisingly, Joker had kept his mouth shut about the 'wet-dream', as he had called it. Rae was happy for that. Crane hadn't so much as talked to her since the 'fight'. Nothing upset the odd balance that the asylum had, which meant no one fought, no one threw fits, and so on and so forth.

It was… strange. Rae was left to do her own thing once she was cleared to have rec. room time again with the others. She had been catching up on her reading, still not able to read her horror books, but at least there were books to read.

This, of course, had to come to an end, this streak of calm, of peace (Well, as much peace as one could have in the Asylum). She had received a very upsetting bit of information during her one-on-one time with her doctor.

"Your parents are coming to visit you in three days."

Rae had, at first, thought she misheard him or thought it was a joke and was waiting for the punch line.

"I think this will be very good opportunity to speak with them. I figured you wouldn't want to see them, but I have arranged for a room, a guard and a time on Thursday for you to meet with them. I think it would be a good idea for you to visit with them." She was shocked speechless. Her parents? Really, they agreed to come?

She did not want to see them.

She was going to. Mostly because of the doctor's next words…

"If this goes well, you'll be able to see your friend again… Jenn." That was the hook.

She was screwed.

At rec. time, Rae sat in a corner, zonked out. Remarks from Joker received no response. Smartass snips from Harley earned silence. Crane had even made a few scathing remarks. Nothing.

Being out in the world, facing her parents was different. When she had faced them last, she wasn't hiding anything, she was prepared to injure if necessary, she had the tools. It was going to be different in that room. Her father would eventually yell, her mother would cry, and she'd shrink down and take it. It would be like before she was in the asylum. Except her father wouldn't be yelling and her mother wouldn't be crying, but she'd do whatever they wanted her to do.

This was going to suuuuuck. She slept and hoped things would go well.

At the time of the appointment, Rae was in the bland looking room, arms crossed, as much as they could be, extra precautions taken knowing that her last 'visit' wasn't exactly… a good one. She was wearing cuffs, her wrists and ankles. That didn't mean she couldn't cause any harm, but she'd cause a significant amount less than she would without the cuffs. Her eyes drifted to the guard, who was in the room with her, grinning when she saw him looking rather irate. Her foot tapping was probably driving him mad.

A glance at the clock told her she had been sitting there for over five minutes, waiting. They were making her wait. A muffled voice came through the door, saying something Rae hadn't caught, but the guard had. He opened the door and allowed a man inside, following behind him were her parents.

She flashed a smile, waving, the links in the cuffs clinking quietly, though the sound seemed to boom in this silent room.

The expression on her mother's face was hilarious, she looked terrified. It made a smirk come to Rae's lips. Her father, on the other hand, looked like someone had shoved a pinecone up his ass. The mental comparison made her smirk wider.

"Get that look off your face." Already with the bossiness, Dad? Really? Even so, the smug expression left, her eyes hollowing out for a moment.

"And stop slouching."

"S'kinda hard to do when you're cuffed from your hands to your feet, Padre."

Silence.

….

And now her mother was crying. Grand.

"Look what you did."

"Honey…" Great, mom was intervening, having taken a breath and collected herself.

Had Rae felt like giving a crap, she'd feel a little bad and try to imagine what her mother must feel like, heck, even what her father must feel like. Their only kid has murdered several people, Rae's not sure of the number, and was now in a mental institution. Second time round, having already escaped once.

Next time, she won't get caught. She won't allow it.

Her father let out a breath and sat down across the table from her, her mother sitting on a chair beside him. Her mother fiddled with her thumbs, her father stared at the table.

"So, you came here to stare at a table with your psycho kid in a room in complete silence?" Their faces snapped up to stare at her's, she smiled. "Yeah, not happening."

"Raelyn! I-… We just want to know, why..? The doctor's won't tell us anything, because you're..." Her mother let out a sign, trying not to say it, but she had to, "An adult and there are things that cannot be discussed, even if we're your parents…" Maybe that was the reason she seemed to distraught when she came inside? Oh, wait, handcuffs, crazy kid. That's enough to get all weepy and whatnot.

"I didn't want to know anything, other than if any of your _stuff_ is left in my house," Said her father, Rae mentally noting that Grumpy Bears do not get information if they're being assholes.

"The police haven't ransacked the place yet? Pity, and here I thought they'd've found..." The look on her father's face was laugh worthy, and this time she wasn't holding back. Wow, did they drug her when she wasn't paying any attention.

"That is not funny, Rae!"

"Oh, but _Daddy_-" Her tone dripped with sarcasm and malice.

"Raelyn. Stop it." Oooh, Mommy-dearest grew a spine.

Rae still wasn't impressed. But, she'd at least give in to her mother's nearly forgotten inquiry about her 'condition'.

"I have no idea what's wrong with me," So there.

Her mother looked stunned, her father leaning back in his chair, choosing to opt out of this conversation, "But… Why don't you know?"

"Because I don't care enough to ask, Mumsy."

This befuddled her mother, though she hadn't asked anything else. Silence, again. Rae had to say something.

"Jenn was here. A bit ago. Had to leave, because I got in a fight."

"Bet she hasn't been back since, huh?" Her dad's tiny bit smug remark. Okay, so she was no longer the favorite child, no need to imply her only friend who's seen her since she'd been in the hospital decided to ditch her. Jenn hadn't been back because she hadn't been allowed visitor privileges. Though… no one had told her whether or not Jenn had called to try and see if she could come a different time.

This was upsetting to think about. Her eyes stung a moment. "I-I haven't had visitor privileges since the fight, until now… she'll be able to come back after this."

"But will she? All right, I'm done here. Martha, we're going home."

"B-But.."

"No, we're going."

Rae was happy to see them leave, and to be let out of those cuffs. But the stinging in her eyes stayed. And the salty tears boiled over the rims, slipping down her cheeks. It happened before she could walk past the cells, so several other high-risk crazies saw the tears. Crane even sent her a look that made him seem like he might've cared. She doubted it. Joker, fortunately, missed the tear-show, seeing as his cell was further down the hallway than her's was. Last thing she needed was to be heckled by some make-up-less, crazy clown.

Back in her cell, she let out a loud, shaky breath, and had she not been herself, she would've probably have called it a sob, but no, it wasn't a sob, it was a loud, shaky breath.

She really wanted to see Jenn, really really. And, apparently, she was starting to repeat herself. She just wanted to sleep. But first, there was dinner to be had.

And shortly after she arrived in her cell, she was taken from it. By this time, she had composed herself, though the puffs around her eyes were a give away that she had been crying. Just what she needed. She got her tray of food, something that looked and tasted edible surprisingly enough, and sat down at a table by her lonesome. Normally, she might go try to bug Crane, but no, not now. She's in no mood for that.

Color her surprised when the blue eyed fellow sits across from her, eating as if things are normal. Maybe he wants to get a rise out of her, that'd just make her crappy day, wouldn't it. She grumbled a greeting, shoving some of the food into her mouth, making it so she would have to chew before responding, if she wanted to respond at all.

"You're bothered, I'm curious as to why," Simple explanation for his showing up. Well, at least someone was still their inquisitive, annoying self.

"I'm not bothered, Crane," A huff, she nabs another bite.

"You are so. Your eyes are puffy and red, signs that you've either recently cried or have been into something you shouldn't be able to get at a mental institution," He waved his fork around like a teacher waved a pointer, she feared it would slip out of his grasp and land in her eye. Whoa, random thought.

"I was upset, I'm fine now. I'll be even better when Jenn comes and visits… If she comes and visits," She added the last bit as an afterthought, hoping it didn't sound too out of place, the 'good' doctor didn't need to try and give her an evaluation. She already had doctors to do that, ones that didn't have any sort of mental disorders. She hoped.

"She'll, more than likely, visit you again," Crane's words came out smooth, collected. He even sounded sure. She almost believed him.

"Right. Shiney change of subject, all right?" She went silent, choosing not to respond to any of the banter that was started by Dr. Crane and remained silent when Joker came to do the same.

This led to much pouting on Joker's part, "Come on, doh-ll, you're not makin' this fuuun."

Her head shook, though a smile crept onto her lips, and had she been looking up, she would've notice the worry lines in Crane's face disappear. "I'm fine, go back to your crazy table, this is mine and Crane's. We've claimed it in the name of…" Her eyes met Crane's, about to ask what would he like to claim the table in name of, but he seemed different.

First off, he was smiling, almost as crazed as Joker, almost. Not quite. His posture was different and so were his eyes. Ah, they were all here for a reason, it had to do with something other than their crazy crimes, they all _were_ crazy. She'd forgotten that and had never really figured out, past his odd obsession with wanting to know how people reacted, or whatever, when nearly paralyzed with fear, why he was here.

A lewd expression crossed his features, a face she thought she'd never see on Crane, and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the sides of his tray, chin resting on his hands. "You."

"…. Me?"

Joker let out a laugh, "Well, if it ain't ol' Scarecrow!" Joker patted Jonathan Crane's back, wait, scratch that, Scarecrow's back.

His eyes rolled in their sockets, though a smirk was on his lips, "Joker, cause any chaos lately?"

Joker pouted in an almost cute fashion, emphasized by his scars, "No-oh! I'm going to be breaking out soon though… Like always… Ooh~! Harl's back, see ya." And he was gone.

And she was left alone.

With Scarecrow.

* * *

Right, so. It's been a while. Sorry about that, life gets in the way of things.

Taking a class that makes me type up a new paper at least once a week, and it sort of is bugging me, though we've started a project, and it'll take at least two weeks, so hopefully more updates.

Also! Tell me what you think of the story, any suggestions on what to do? Share 'em.

I've got a few ideas in mind, but it'd be nice to throw a few extra surprises in there.


	10. Darkest

When You Face Your Darkest Fears,

Will You Break Down Into Tears?

* * *

True, this was her first, or so she thought, encounter with Scarecrow, but she felt less afraid than she believed she would. Perhaps it was because he shared a face, a body, with Jonathan Crane, and she definitely was not scared of that man, irritated occasionally by his presence, but not scared.

Her eyes gazed over the being before her, the no-longer-Crane, trying to recall the name of the disorder where one had multiple personalities… It wasn't schizophrenia, though it was often confused with it. No, something… Dissociative Identity Disorder! That's what it was, when a person had two or more people inside of one body.

Before she could think another sentence, the figure shoved himself up, leaning over the table, actually looking menacing with Crane's damn near angelic features, "Little Jonny is so interested in you, you know? Wants to… what was it… figure out what makes you tock, as opposed to tick…" She had heard rumors of Jonathan having a darker side, though this was not what she had in mind. She thought of his scathing looks and his smart-ass insults when people mentioned a darker side to the man, even that mask of his, but not this.

"Me?" A chortle rasped out of his throat, "I'd much rather snap your pretty little neck."

Instead of responding negatively, she tilted her head at him, a brow raised, "Oh, you think I'm pretty?" Joker, the bastard that he was, must've been listening in, because when she said that a loud gaffing laugh came from his table, followed by an order from Ivy to shut his face, though he did not comply.

"Also, that's more cliché'd that frightening, dear… Scarecrow, was it?" She rose to, pressing her hands flat against the table, her gaze meeting his at a level point. She forced a smile on her lips, getting too close for the comfort of any normal people, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Clichés aren't scary." She inched closer if possible, feeling his breathe on her face, "And do keep this in mind… You try anything, to scare me, to cause me any harm, or anything of the sort… and I swear to any deity that might be listening, I will throw you out the window of the highest floor of this asylum, in pieces, through the bars." She didn't need to check and make sure the windows of the asylum had bars, she'd been gazing out of them since she'd gotten there.

Scarecrow smiled a hideous, yet, and she would never admit this aloud, sexy, smile, "You'll make our play time fun, girl." His eyes softened a moment, before hardening again, the man leaning back, pushing his glasses up slightly. He let out a breath, Rae watching him with careful eyes. His eyes were the way they were prior to Scarecrow's appearance.

Taking her seat again, she noticed the guards were tensed up, watching them intently. Ah, so they caused a bit of a scene? Whoops. Calm down guardy-kins, they were better now.

She smiled at Crane, leaning towards him, in a smug manner, "So, Scarecrow thinks I'm pretty?" Joker snorted, Harley too, though she supposed it was because whatever he was drinking had come out of his nose.

"No, he just wanted to get a rise out of you," Crane's neck was getting red, as was his ears. That made Rae smile like she knew the biggest secret in the world. That probably irritated him, if the wrinkle between his eyebrows was any indication. The subject was dropped, for now. She'd bring it up later, to try to get an answer from him or simply to annoy him. He wasn't the only one who could pick on someone… or whatever.

The meal was finished in one-sided silence, as Rae, now feeling better, was trying to converse with Crane, who was just not having it.

The madmen-madwomen-madPEOPLE, if anyone felt like being politically correct, were then escorted back to their cells. They all proceeded to what they did every night, fiddle around with the contents of their room, if they had the luxury of having earned special things, like Ivy's pet plant, while the rest would simply wait for lights-out.

The thing with lights-out was that it made it harder to see when someone decided to open the cell door and enter it, the lighting conditions did not help to alert Rae that someone had come into her cell. A hand over her mouth was what woke her, the eyes of one of the men gazing down at her. Her thoughts went to the worst of places.

"Do be quiet!" Familiar, but definitely not the smooth voice of Crane, nor the cackling voice of Joker. It was someone from group, and she didn't think it was Edward, er, Riddler. Something cold clasped around her wrist, her hand bumping against her captor's. Who was…? She was jerked from her bed, blankets falling to the floor, led out of her cell, eyes narrowing, trying to adjust to the faded lights. Yes, the hall had lights, but not enough for her to identify her kidnapper.

"What are we-?"

"We're escaping, and you're collateral so they'll let us leave," The voice muttered, "Now be quiet, we mustn't alert the guards to our actions." She tried to find the guards that were suppose to keep an eye on the block, but found none, perhaps she was being abducted during the changing of the guards? Humorous.

"How'm I collateral?"

"Well, you're more of a meat shield, than anything." She made a noise at his words, but chose not to comment on his words, not too sure whether or not this was a dream.

At least she would be useful, if any problems were to occur during this man's escape. Thankfully, there was no need for that, he led her down a few twists and turns and soon they were out, having not even ran into a nurse on their way out of the asylum. Blocks away from the asylum was when they stopped moving, under a lamppost, where she was able to see exactly who had taken her from the asylum. Jervish Tetch.

She yanked her arm, letting out a grunt, "You can let me go now, Tetch."

"On the contrary, I think you'd make a lovely Queen of Hearts, Rae. If I only had my supplies…" A look of disgust crossed the girl's features. She was not going to be his play toy, something he could order around and have do his bidding, which would be acting out the role of the Queen of Hearts.

She had heard about his fixation with Alice in Wonderland in Group, obviously, as he hadn't tried to hide it. It was his shtick, what he did, and he was proud of it. She had thought it was a little odd, interesting, but odd, when she heard about it, but now that he thought of using her in his game, she was very against it. Yanking her arm, forcing his back with it, she grasped the front of his asylum attire, shoving him against the lamppost.

"Get this through your head, Tetch, I am not someone to fuck with, got it?" He frowned at her, shoving her back, her body having a bit of a rubber band effect due to the handcuffs, and she nearly bumped back into him.

He gave her a look of annoyance, looking as if he was contemplating something, before he started to walk, dragging her along.

"Tetch! Let me go or I swear you're on my list!" Now she was shouting in a neighborhood that no one wanted to draw attention to themselves in. Tetch ordered her to keep quiet. She shouted louder. This gained the attention of a few insomniacs, gang bangers in the area, and anyone else that was awake at that time of night. None came to her aid, though several did tell her to shut her face or they'd make better use of her mouth. Had Jervish not covered her mouth, she would've blasted very obscene words in their direction. A reward for his hand on her mouth was a bite.

"That's what you get!" Was her only response to his 'Why would you do that' face. He chose not to speak to her for the rest of this drag-session.

They wound up in some old, abandoned looking warehouse. She realized her mistake once she entered it, her wrist tender from the cuff, that it was not abandoned, no, the user just was locked up and wasn't able to take care of it. Costumes everywhere. Jervish made special note to lock the door behind them before taking the cuffs off of them. He also ducked, having predicted that she would swing.

Without paying her more mind than that, he went towards the costumes, searching for something. She figured it was his special costume, though was surprised when one was tossed at her.

"Change, silly girl."

She frowned at the abomination that was the article of clothing in her hands. She'd rather wear an Arkham jumpsuit than the black and red thing he had just given her.

She smirked, eyeing the walls of the warehouse, slithering closer to Jervish as he began to change, seemingly uncaring whether or not she saw him.

Standing on her tiptoes, her arms snaked around his neck from behind, her chin resting on his shoulder, "Jervish… You obviously weren't paying attention before…" She leaned over, pressing a kiss to his cheek, secretly wishing to have Ivy's death-kiss, "Don't fuck with me." She grabbed him by his shirt, throwing all of her weight into it as she shoved him towards a window, having thrown down the dress he wanted her to put on. He stumbled on it and fell through a window of the warehouse.

This made her smile.

She did decide to take something from Jervish's collection of costumes before hopping out the window, a pair of plain black shoes that were too big for her. She just barely missed stomping on Jervish, wishing she had, though instead of fulfilling her desire to stomp his face into the dirt, she took off.

She cursed to herself, doubting she'd be able to find any 'safe house' to stay in, seeing as the asylum probably had Jenn's contact information, including address. That'd be one of the first places they would look for her, she was sure.

Rae had no where to go, no where to hide.

She'd have to fix that.

* * *

So! Someone asked I put a little more of the Mad Hatter into the story, and I did.

Sorry for, er, the Mad Hatter abuse.

Also! You'll have a special treat for the next chapter.

And it's not a surprise, because I'm terrible at keeping those.

The next chapter will be written from Jonathan Crane's point of view.


	11. The Hunt Begins

The Life Behind The Mask,

Is Funner Than You Might Think.

* * *

He woke him from a semi-peaceful slumber, into a world of loud noises and guards rushing about, nurses trying to see whom was there and who wasn't. He smashed his face into the pillow, grumbling about his sleep being interrupted and how it was rude to do. Obviously, someone had escaped, he had thought it was the Joker, from what Scarecrow had told him earlier.

The voice of said madman rouse him from his attempted slumber, if not him, then who? Jonathan sat up, slipping off of his head, grasping his glasses before moving to the glass that imprisoned him. Ah, a body on the floor, between his cell and Joker's, Joker's being right next to Rae's… Surely, the girl would've been making noise had she been woken to this madness. But no, she was surprisingly silent, very odd, very odd. The rest of the inmates had seemed to throw out their little snippets of displeasure. Only two voices were missing, he thought, half-asleep.

His mind took a few moments to process what he had just thought, his eyes snapping wide open after it finally clicked.

'_My toy is gone!'_ Scarecrow screamed from the depths of his mind. _'Fix it or I will!'_

Jonathan frowned, 'That's unreasonable, I'm in here, and have no idea as to where she might be. Can't you find a different toy to play with?'

'_No!'_ Crane sighed. Damnit, Scarecrow, shut up, he'd get her back, or bust out, or something, and they'd go find her. That shut Scarecrow up, for now.

So how to get out?… He had it.

No one was paying him any attention, so the man put his finger into his mouth, tearing some flesh on the inside of his cheek. He winced, forcing a cough, blood splattering the window. A nurse turned and took notice, notifying a guard and telling him to get another nurse, a male nurse, to assist her in this dilemma. He tried his best not to smile when the guard opened the door for the two nurses, whom slipping his arms over their shoulders. Normally, he would have protested, but seeing as he was trying to escape, well, he chose to keep quiet, apart from the coughing.

They were directing him towards the infirmary, the guards not present around that area, instead they were off searching the grounds in hopes of finding the escaped inmates. A startled noise came from the woman nurse when he jerked back and smashed the heads of the nurses together, their bodies falling to the floor like ragdolls.

He clapped his hands together, looking very pleased with himself for a moment before beginning to strip the male nurse of his clothing and replacing his own with the articles he stole. Now, he looked like a nurse, and if no one were to really look at him, as no one would in a search for escaped inmates, he would be able to walk out.

And that's exactly what he did.

Reflecting on the escaped duo, Crane felt himself becoming rather angry. She escaped with Tetch, but not Crane? Crane had been trying to talk to her, though he wasn't all that great with social interaction and ended up picking on her… And the Joker wasn't helping. Rae, as she liked to be called, didn't even talk to Tetch outside of Group, hell, no one did, really. But it wasn't like Tetch tried talking to other people, either. So why had she gone with Tetch?

Maybe Tetch had offered her something? What could Rae possibly want from that madman?

This line of thinking was beginning to bother him, irritate him, and piss him off. Which made him curious. Why, exactly, did that infuriate him so?

His irritation grew when he realized he would have no mod of transportation, finding the nurse's pockets empty, no car keys meant no car. He wasn't exactly a professional car thief, so he wasn't about to try to hot-wire a car.

Maybe a minion of his from when he was selling whacked out drugs was out of jail, or hadn't been caught? He hoped.

At a telephone booth, he made collect calls to his old minions, three to be precise, before one picked up.

"Who the hell is calling this early in the morning?"

He hadn't identified himself when asked 'what is your name' for the collect call voice lady, so he wasn't going to snap on his minion just yet..

"Who do you think it is, Harold?" A smirk caught his lips at the sound that came from the man on the line, obviously he knew exactly who had called this early.

"Bo-boss?!"

"Yes, now hurry up. I'm a few blocks outside of Arkham in the Narrows. If you aren't at N 8th Street and Franklin Blvd in fifteen minutes, you _know_ what will happen," He hung up, not waiting for a response. Harold would be there or Jonathan would let Scarecrow play with the man. As for the men who didn't answer their phones, they would either pay or be let off, depending on his mood when he saw them. Or depending on what Scarecrow felt like doing when they arrived.

Fourteen minutes later, a white van pulled up, the back door opening, Crane climbed into it. "A full minute early…" He remarked quietly to himself. At least someone remembered the rules. The driver, Harold, was told to just drive about. Crane was almost delighted to see that Harold had brought him a suit, as well as a mask and a few canisters. In the back of the van, Crane changed from his stolen scrubs into his lovely dark navy suit. Ah, it felt good to be back in his old clothes.

Strapping on canisters of fear toxin, he kept his mask at arm length, slipping into the front seat, next to Harold.

"Two others have escaped from Arkham, I doubt you've heard the news yet?" Harold shook his head, he grinned. "Good. We need to find one of the escaped inmates."

"Which one, boss?" Perhaps, some of the rules were forgotten. He'd let it slide for now.

"I'm sure you've saw the news when I was captured last?" Harold nodded. "That girl who was the reason for my capture. She's whom we're getting." Were he a vengeful sort of man, he'd find her, tied her up, put a bow on her, and leave her for Batman.

"Why her, Boss?"

A pause followed by a frown. "She didn't scream."

Harold looked puzzled but decided to stop asking questions, as boss wasn't looking too pleased.

Crane furrowed his brow. He actually had agreed to something that Scarecrow wanted and went to do it without any thought other than escape. Now he was out and had time to think. Why, exactly, had he obeyed Scarecrow's 'order'? Scarecrow could have found a different 'toy', or he could've been left to pout, but no, Crane had gone and broken out of Arkham and went to find this girl.

Again, it was pissing him off.

"We'll search for her in the morning, take us to any of the hideouts that haven't been found by the police or the Bat yet," He waved a hand, leaning back into his seat. Harold followed the order given.

Soon, they were at a warehouse (What was it with 'bad guys' and warehouses?), Harold unlocked the side door and gave any of the keys that went along with it to Crane. Inside, it looked almost like a house, without the walls, though there was a screen around the bathroom area for privacy. Above the living space was a lab, because he had to make the toxin somewhere. It was hard to get goons who would make it for him…

He took off his suit jacket, moving to the couch. He was going to watch television until something came up about Arkham or about Rae, or a combination of it. Harold stood awkwardly.

"Go get something to get and bring me something back, all right?" Crane spoke tiredly, giving the man a deadly look. He flipped the television on and switched the channel to the Gotham News Network. If anything about Arkham was to pop up, or anything about the odd criminals that occupied the city, it would be on there.

He didn't know when he had fallen asleep, but Harold returning with some groceries and a few McDonald's Bags woke him. He let out a faint noise, shifting until he was sitting up, craning his neck from side to side until a few cracks echoed in the large room.

"Got yer favorite, boss," Harold sat one of the bags down in front of Crane, before moving to the kitchen area to put away the groceries before he ate. Crane leaned forward and grabbed a breakfast sandwich from the back, taking a bite from it, eyes turning to the television just in time to see some news footage with Tetch in it. Snatching the remote with his free hand, he turned the volume up.

"… -etch, known as the Mad Hatter, was found this morning outside of a warehouse, when further investigated, the warehouse was discovered to be full of costumes and mind-control devices. When the police found him, he had already been thrown out of a first floor window of the warehouse and knocked unconscious. When he woke, he stated that another inmate had done this to him, another inmate who had escaped with him. This inmate goes by the name of Raelyn 'Rae' Vail and has yet to be captured.

"On related news, Jonathan Crane has also escaped from Arkha-" The volume was turned down so low that it would be hard to hear in a silent room. Crane smiled, Scarecrow made noises that sounded happy, and he rose, taking another bite out of his sandwich. She hadn't been lying the other day when she said she'd throw someone out a window, though she hadn't done it to Scarecrow, nor had it been in multiple pieces, but still, it was humorous.

At least she wasn't with Tetch, though she had escaped with him, or so the newscaster said. Jonathan felt himself boil inside, not sure if it was him or Scarecrow, at the thought of Tetch trying to do anything to Rae. He blamed Scarecrow for the feeling. He watched a picture of Rae pop up on the screen, her mug shot from one of the times she had been apprehended by the police. Dark red hair, pale, eyes looking as hollow as they had when she first arrived, though now they held more life to them. That was a curious thing too, another question she brought to his attention that he would have to get an answer for.

He looked away, to Harold, while pointing at the screen, "She is who we're after."

Harold nearly shit himself, or at least that was what his expression told Crane. The footage from the bank had probably been poor, so he wanted to make sure Harold saw the face, clearly.

"Boss, I think I saw her on my way back…"

Crane stood quickly, giving Harold a 'why the hell didn't you tell me sooner' look. "What?!"

"Yeah, was her, walked past her outside of da' store, she went down an alley and that was that."

"Show me!" And crane was pulling on his suit jacket and heading out the door. Harold hurried after him.

Crane smirked, despite his irritated state. And here he thought he'd have to lay low for a few weeks and wait for her to do something stupid and end up on the news. He _knew_ Harold was good for something, locating his Rae.

This was going to be an interesting day, wasn't it.

Heh.

* * *

So ya! There's Crane's Chapter, hope you like it. It might be the last, it might not, it depends on what I plan to do later.

Hope you liked it! Comment and all that jazz and I'll love you forever.

Mwah.


	12. Thugs Suck

Hiding in Plain View,

Might or Might Not Get Your Caught.

* * *

Since throwing Tetch out of a window, Rae has been very busy. First, she had to get clothes that weren't Arkham issued. Then she had to find a place to hide.

The first had been a lot easier than the second. She had gotten a hobo to trade pants with her, or well, the jumpsuit for the pants, then managed to find some beat-up drunk outside of a bar and liked his pleather jacket. Thankfully, under the jumpsuit was a white T-shirt, so the whole look change made her look like some gangbanger wanna-be, or just some roughed up woman who had to leave in a giffy. She'd spent most of her time after sunrise hiding in alleyways, keeping her head down, and trying to avoid any officers that came into her line of sight.

So she had been surprised that at the exact same time she looked up, some man walking past as she tried to move from alley to another. Oh well, he didn't look like a cop. She hadn't seen a TV to see whether or not someone had reported on the breakouts of Arkham, but she wasn't worried that someone might recognize her. If they called the cops, she'd be long gone before they had a chance to get there.

It was quite unfortunate that only two or so blocks after seeing that guy, she'd get jumped in one of the alleys. Hello? Did she look like someone who had a lot of cash on her?!

She was slammed against the wall of one of the buildings, her head cracking against it. Ow, jerk, was that necessary?

Hands began to rummage through her pockets, finding nothing but lint and slips of paper with psychobabble on them (From the Hobo, she swears). "Where's your money?!"

Ugh, who carried money anymore, anyway? Or a reasonable amount to be stolen? "Do I fuckin' look like I have money?!" She tried to shove him off, though failed. Great, lack of sleep was getting to her, not to mention the stress of the day prior.

Was that a hand? Dear gods, that was hand on her ribcage. She cringed readying her knee, hoping that with enough force he would let her go.

The sound of fast paced footfalls distracted the both of them.

Suddenly, the thug's hand was ripped from her ribcage and was completely away from her person. She sat stunned for a moment, her legs giving out and her bum quickly finding the grimy concrete. A burlap mask was in front of her, though no toxin was being sprayed at her face. Curious. A thin hand with long fingers wrapped around her upper arm, dragging her down the alley and towards a van parked near the end of it. She glanced back to see the man from earlier kicking the bastard whom had her pinned to a wall.

Wow. Small world.

But wait, when had Crane escaped? The question hadn't reached her lips by the time she was thrown into the back of the van, none too gently, her head bouncing off of the inside wall. The van was a cargo van, no back seats, only front seats, she observed in her daze. The burlap mask was removed, startling blue eyes visible once more.

"Don't you dare try to run, or I'll give you a dose you won't be able to recover from!" Crane hissed quietly, closing the back door loudly, before moving up to the front, passenger seat. The window was rolled down halfway. "Harold!"

The man who had talked the thug responded by nodding his head, delivering one last kick to the thug's ribcage before turning to the van, jogging to the driver's side. He gave her a quick look before punching the gas, the vehicle had apparently been left on for a quick getaway. She didn't bother trying to watching where they were going via the windows, her head hurt too badly for her to give a crap at that moment.

Soon, like too soon for her comfort, she was being hauled out of the back by Crane, into a large building, a warehouse (Seriously, what was up with bad guys and warehouses?!). The door had been closed behind her, she noticed when she was shoved against it, Crane staring down at her with wide, dangerous eyes.

"You _left_… with _him_." She doubted he was Jonathan anymore. Not with that look in his eyes.

She shifted, or tried, his grip on her arms tightening, "Jonatha-"

"Not Jonny, kid, get it RIGHT!" She grimaced, the pounding worse, and the spitting hadn't helped.

"Scarecrow… He got a key and came into my _room_!" He wasn't looking convinced. She figured he wasn't when he slammed her into another wall. God, what was with people throwing her into walls?! "He did, Scarecrow! He fuckin' _cuffed_ me and made me go _with_ him!" Right now, she'd probably say anything to get him to stop him from slamming her into walls. This time, though, it wasn't a wall, instead she was thrown, and with a force she didn't think Jona-Scarecrow had, onto a couch.

"How do I know you're not lying?!" Was he serious?

"I threw him through a window, Scarecrow!" He was coming near her and she was frickin' tired of this. Her legs sprung out, slamming into his chest, sending him backwards. "Now stop throwing me around like a doll, or I swear to Pete I'll strangle your ass!"

He came back quickly, pinning her down on the couch before she had a chance to get up. "And who the hell was that in the alley, Rae…?" His voice dropped from his hollering to near whispering, eyes still dangerous. If it hadn't been for the eyes, she would have thought Jonathan was back.

"A thug who tried to mug me, okay? Didn't get cash, so started trying to get friendly before your friend barreled into him. Was trying to find place to stay, alright?!" She squirmed, shoving her palms against his chest. Gods, she was tired. Couldn't he just let her sleep and interrogate her later?!

"Don't ever let any punk like that get close to you again, got it? Hell, don't let anyone else get close to you, or I'll rip your eyes out and feed 'em to you," He growled out, moving away at her nod. She would agree to almost anything at the moment if she were allowed a half a bottle of aspirin and a nap. Maybe a shot of whiskey, not that she drank, but it couldn't hurt.

Jeezus, why the heck did he give a crap if she left with Tetch or was being felt up by a thug (She was thankful for his disturbing the second, by the way)? Scarecrow seemed to straighten out, his back to her, a hand rising to brush his hair back into place. Jonathan? She didn't want to ask.

"Can you do me a favor?" She rumbled out quietly. Truth be told, she felt a little pathetic for being thrown around like that. If she had her equipment… but that wasn't an option at the moment. She needed to learn not to rely on her equipment, her toys.

He turned to her, and yeah, it was Jonathan. He quirked a brow, not asking what she wanted, instead waiting to see what she would ask of him.

"Aspirin, water, sleep?" Rae was in no mood for witty banter, she was barely in the mood for full sentences. He didn't answer, instead he went off, out of her line of sight and she didn't want to get up and watch him.

He returned, handing her a pair of blue pills, and a bottle of water, "Take these and I'll take you to where you can sleep. Sit up." She complied, popping the pills into her mouth, cracking the bottle of water open and downing as much as she could before it spilled over her chin. Jeezus. She looked pathetic, too. Frowning, she moved to stand up, Crane getting out of her way, watching her curiously.

She gave him a look before shrugging, setting the water bottle down on the floor, her hands moving up to the button of her jeans. Crane turned a bright shade of pink, turning around.

"What are you doing?"

"Can't sleep in jeans. Uncomfy. You have to deal with it because your meaner half decided to be a jerk and throw me around to the point that I reeaaally don't care right now whether or not you see me pantless." To add a bit more childishness to her statement, she stuck her tongue out at him, letting the baggy jeans drop.

"You're just lucky _I'm_ in a good mood and am letting you sleep," Jonathan muttered to himself, eyes casting downwards, pausing at her legs. Yes, there were some scars from when she had been gassed and spazzed out and clawed her legs, but there were older scars on her legs that looked like a sloppy surgeon cut into her. He frowned, noting in his head somewhere to check that out later.

"You do realize I will be asking you questions later?" He lead her towards the bed. It was just sort of right there, no walls no curtains, he didn't mind so much, seeing that he could now observe the girl while she slept.

"With or without your other half?" She followed after him, just now taking notice of the bed. Wow, she failed at observation, didn't she? She didn't wait for his answer, instead she walked forward to the bed, splitting the blanket from the sheets and slipping in between.

* * *

Crane wanted to point out that Scarecrow was always there, but chose not to, choosing to give her a nod. He watched her for a few moments, grinning at the pills taking their effects. No, they weren't anything like Fear Pills, they were more sleep aids than anything, stored for when he wouldn't shut off and his body required sleep. This way he wouldn't wake her and have to listen to her complain about anything that might've woken her.

After about fifteen minutes or so into her slumber, after Crane was sure she was fast asleep, he pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil, slipping over towards the bed, gingerly pulling the blankets off of her. He wanted to make notes of each scar she hadn't given herself in his presence, in case he were to forget later. He doubted he would forget, but there's always that off chance that he would, or would be too busy working on something else.

A light 'ahem' from behind reminded him that Harold was still there. "Throw those pants out and go out and get a few decent clothes for her to wear." Harold nodded, tossing the jeans into the trash then taking off.

* * *

Rae's a bit out of it towards the end of the chapter, but that's what happens when you get thrown around.

And Crane sorta seemed like a creeper in this chapter… Woo Scarecrow! Boo crazy!

Right, anyway. This chapter sort of sucks, but I think the next one will be better.

Thanks for hanging in there, guys. You know the deal, comments make me happy. Useful criticism makes me smile. Flames piss me off and make me pour tequila on them.


	13. Light On

Leave the Light On,

And Wait For Me in the Doorway.

* * *

She woke to an empty room, a TV, left on, volume down, and what sounded like footsteps above her. Rae curled up on her side, pulling the blankets closer to her body, letting out a light sigh of comfort before the memories of what had occurred prior to her 'nap' resurfaced in her mind. Her face turned a lovely shade of scarlet at the memory of taking her pants off in front of the crazed doctor. Scarred, bare legs shifted uncomfortably underneath the blanket.

Now fully awake, she scoped out the room, noting minor things. Escapes routes, the amount of open space, potential weapons, etc. Eyes darted about the walls, searching for a clock to find none. She pushed her hand to her head, fingers slipping through her dark tresses. She winced, fingers brushing against a bruise hidden by her hair. Fuckin' awesome.

Her hand moved from her head to the bed beside her, landing on fabric that was different from the blanket. She frowned, looking at what she touched. Clothes. Inside, she had herself a little party. Outside, she was calm and quiet.

She began to strip herself of the articles of clothing she wore, calling out, "If you really wanna see me naked, this is your only chance, Crane!" A loud crash came from the upper level, followed by very quiet mutters. She pouted when she realized she had been bought another pack of Hello Kitty panties. Damnit, what was with people and their thought processes?... Maybe there was a sale.

She slipped those on, followed by a pair of black slacks that bunched at her feet. Next came the button up, long-sleeved white shirt. She left a few of the buttons near the top unbuttoned. She didn't like feeling constricted by her clothes, that was why she left them unbuttoned. Really. Rubbing her hands down her sides, she glanced about, attention caught by a drawer.

She pulled it open, her lower lip jutted out. No hair-ties. Well, she didn't expect Jonathan to have kept any, but she still was disappointed.

Instead of putting her hair into a ponytail, her hands moved to her tresses and began to twirl and tuck the strands until she had a sloppy bun on the back of her head, stray bits of hair falling over her cheeks. She attempted to tuck the stray strands behind her ears, but failed, the hair kept slipping back. She rolled her shoulders and turned, freezing at the sight of blue eyes staring down at her.

She shook herself out of it quickly, a devilish smirk crossing her lips, "Liked what you saw, Crane?" Her hands swept around her body, as if presenting a prize on a game show. Whoa, flirting. Her arms dropped at the realization. And especially after earlier…? She was going to be banging her head against the wall later. It took her a moment to notice he hadn't replied, but had come down from the upper level and was now approaching her.

His palm pressed against her shoulder, forcing her to sit down on the edge of the bed. She quirked a brow, gazing up at him as he moved, pulling a chair from the kitchen table to across from her. He sat, his fingers lacing together, elbows resting on his knees. She took notice of a notebook he had, seemingly pulled from nowhere, though she was sure it came from _somewhere_. Ugh, question time now, she guessed.

She was correct.

"First… the scars on your legs-"

"Hey, if you don't remember, they came from me. Your toxin saw to tha-"

"Not those."

She froze, then let out a laugh. "Want my bullshit answer, or want the truth?"

He gave her a flat look, obviously not as amused as she was. She rolled her shoulders, leaning back until her elbows were propping her upper half up. "Well, I'll give you the bullshit answer, since there's only two that know the real story…" Her lips curled, "And the second is in a coma, last I heard." That poor med. student. It was a real pity that he, along with several others, hadn't been evacuated from that college… Oh well, too bad for them.

Crane was growing impatient, if the look on his face told anything. She shook her head, shutting her eyes. To tell, to not tell? Sure, why not. He couldn't really duplicate what she had done, not that he would want to. "Fine, no bullshit answer. Just the truth. Would that please the great Doctor?" She wiggled her toes.

Crane frowned further, "I would be very happy if you answered the question and stopped playing games."

She pouted at him a moment before flashing a smile, "Only if you say please."

Crane forced an icy smile, "Please."

Rae slumped back further, tipping her head back, hands moving to slip over her eyes. "Fine, fine, but only because you said please…" She muttered to herself a moment, before continuing. "Right, so. If you ever get a chance to look at my file back at Arkham, it'll say my legs are paralyzed. Don't work, nadda. Obviously, that isn't the case anymore."

He blinked at this, then at her legs as she swung them over the side of the bed. She smiled, hands still over her eyes. "Yeah." A laugh. "So I started researching my last year of high school and past that. Something from a cartoon inspired me, Fullmetal Alchemist, if you're curious. Main character loses his arm and leg, then has metal limbs attached, connected to the nerves that worked, ya' know?" He probably didn't, but she felt like saying it anyway. "I took that concept and applied it to connecting the nerves of my legs to the working nerves. Found out it would be in my spine, more than my legs, but I didn't want to screw myself up more. That would suck." She nodded to this. "But yeah… I saved up money, laid out plans on how it would work, how the surgery would go, and found myself a down-on-his-luck med. student that was easily persuaded."

She rolled and shifted her body until she was sitting up, the right side of her body facing him. She pulled her pant-leg up, revealing the scars, his and the med-kid's. "See? I'm glad we didn't screw it up, though, otherwise I'd never have been able to do what I've done, and what I plan to do… The end."

"… That…"

"Is weird? Yeah, I know."

Crane shook his head, "Impossible." He rose, taking his notebook with him. She was mildly surprised, figuring he'd have more questions to ask. Well, no big.

Crane turned to face her, halfway up the staircase that, she assumed, led to the upper level. "What are your plans, exactly?"

Rae blinked at him, tipping her head to the side. "No specific plans, well… one, but I don't feel like sharing. But, for the most part, I want the city to feel alive again." She rose from the bed, following up after Crane, the doctor began to walk again when she reached the bottom of the staircase. "Everything's too planned. Everyday, people go to work or school, rinse and repeat." A crease appeared between her eyebrows, nose crinkling at the bridge. "Reactions are fading, real ones. The only real reaction people get nowadays are from the Bat and our favorite crazies, and depending on the situation, even those reactions are becoming less and less real." She frowned, pushing her fingertips through her hair, wincing at the touch to the bruise. "I'm probably not making sense, but it works out perfectly in my head."

A light chuckle came from Crane, "You almost sound like Joker, just a bit more… intelligent."

She puffed her cheeks, arms crossing, before she let out an offended noise, though the smile on her lips grew. "Hey!" Whoa, the mood was totally different now. Her eyes narrowed a moment in thought. "Crane, did you look at my scars while I was sleeping?"

He paused then moved to a table on the upper level, several bottles with labels sat in an organized manner. He tried to keep himself from facing Rae, his face heating up at the question.

She snorted, getting her answer from his body language instead of his voice. She leaned against the railing, hands holding the top of the rail. Tipping her head at him, she quirked a brow, not really too bothered now that he had seen her in her panties, bothered more by the fact that she was here, with him, outside of Arkham, talking to each other a bit more civilly than before.

"My turn, Jonny-kins," That nickname earned her a glare, which she ignored, "Why the hell did you come and find me? Truthfully." She shifted her weight to her right side. Here she was, ruining the halfway decent mood they had slipped into after her little sph'eel.

Please note that Crane was not about to let Rae know he had broken out _specifically_ for her. He frowned, continuing to _not_ look at her.

His answer made her laugh.

"You're a better conversationalist than Tetch is."

* * *

Suck chapter, I know! And! It's taken me forever to post something.

I'm really very sorry about that, just so you know. Buh, the life thing gets in the way, so does the whole writer's block.

Don't worry though, I know where I want this to go, and there should be another chapter up soon.

Comments are lovely and make me happy and want to write more.

Kisses~!


	14. Sorry

You Left the Light On,

I'm Sorry I Cannot Stay.

* * *

A better conversationalist than Tetch was? That was funny. Or, at least, Rae had thought it was funny. After that little chat was over, Rae asking him little questions about what he was doing, she finally asked to use the shower, and was told she could do so. Like that would've stopped her.

She was a bit put out when she discovered the shower was in the big open space, though curtains hid it, but still. Well, it was better than showering with a lot of women, being watched by nurses. She slipped behind the curtains, setting a fresh pair of underwear outside of the curtains, before removing her clothes, setting them beside the undergarment. What? She had worn that outfit for less than an hour, there was no need to waste a clean outfit when this one was perfectly fine. Leaning over, she turned the nozzles, her hand under the showerhead as water sprayed out.

Once the water was at a decent temperature, she stepped under, her sloppy bun coming undone as water slithered down her head. What none of the male patients at Arkham knew was that Rae sang in the shower. Now, she wasn't a great singer, but she wasn't horrible either. First, she began to hum the introduction before the words actually started.

"Don't tell me what to think, 'cause I don't care this time~!" She swayed to the music, "Don't tell me what to believe-"

* * *

"-'Cause you won't be there to catch me when I fall. But you'll need me when I'm not here at all. Miss me when I'm gone again, yeah," The voice floated up from the lower level, Crane figuring it was Rae. It piqued his interests. He moved from his table of labeled containers, leaning over the rail. Yup, it was Rae singing. Not too shabby, could be worse.

He didn't think it was unpleasant, but Scarecrow was having a fit, not saying specifically why the singing was bothering him.

"I'm going down in flames, I'm falling into this again, yeah. I'm going down in flames, I'm falling into this, again."

Crane moved away from the railing, hoping his being further away would lessen the sound. It didn't. And Scarecrow was getting louder.

'_Come on, Jonny-boy! Let me out to play!'_

'No. I can't, I have to finish this...'

'_I don't care, Jonny! Let me OUT!'_

"Don't tell me how life is, 'cause I don't really want to know. Don't tell me how this game ends, cause we'll see how it goes. Catch me when I fall! Or you'll need me when I'm not here at all. Miss me when I'm gone, again…"

Snap.

'_Damnit, Scarecrow!'_

"Shut up, Jonny!" Scarecrow ran halfway down the stairs before leaping over the side, earning a mental shout from Jonathan.

* * *

"Shut up, Jonny!"

Her song stopped before she could continue to the chorus. She frowned, listening closely to the sounds outside of the curtain. She reached for a towel, on a rack just outside of the curtains, turning off the water, thankful the shampoo was out of her hair. Wrapping the towel around her, she stepped out of the curtain.

And two seconds later she found herself on the floor, a thin man, Jonathan? Scarecrow?, on top of her, hands pinning down her shoulders. "You're really going for a concussion, aren't you..?" She muttered, groaning at the throbbing at the back of her skull.

"Anything to make you _scream_," The look in his eyes, definitely Scarecrow. Crap. "Though, it didn't work… You'll sing, but you won't scream." He leaned down closer, a twisted little smirk on his lips.

She smirked right back, craning her neck to get nearer to him, "Scarecrow, I can assure you that you'll never make me scream." She twisted her legs, those not pinned by Scarecrow, a bad move on his part. She twisted, bending and thrusting her legs upwards, forcing Scarecrow from her, to his feet and stumbling backwards until he fell onto his rear.

While he was down, she took the opportunity and threw on the fresh pair of underwear, green with that little Hello Kitty Frog person on them. She was not going to fight with a crazy in _just_ a towel. She didn't have the time to put on anything else when a fist hit her chin.

She grunted, ducking to dodge another pale fist, running back into the curtains, slipping out the other side, Scarecrow following. He didn't get a chance to leave the curtained area, as Rae leapt and caught him, knocking him over, the curtains ripping, sitting on top of his stomach. One hand pressed against his chest, trying to keep him down, her other hand in a fist, reeling back, getting ready to strike.

Unfortunately for her, fortunately for Scarecrow, she hadn't pinned down his arms. His hand caught her fist, the other grasping her neck as he forced them to roll until he was on top.

Rae let out a few gasps, struggling beneath Scarecrow, her hands on his wrists, a feeble attempt. His legs pinned her's, his hand that had stopped her punch was now holding both wrists together above her head. Perhaps there was a way out of this, Rae wondered to herself… The solution was an interesting one.

"Crane! You better get out here and off of me! Or else I'm taking back every thought about how nice your ass looks!"

Scarecrow sure looked surprised. His head hung a moment, before large blue eyes stared into her's. Crane was back. Wow, she didn't think it'd work, shocking the both of them and drawing out the one who's name she said, she really didn't think it would work. Crane's eyes narrowed, seemingly unaffected by the position they were in, leaning down to gaze at her chin.

"You have a bruise.."

"I'll bet there'll be one on my neck before the day's done, now, geddoff," Her hands reached up, gently pressing against his chest, his hands pressed against the ground at her sides.

And that was how Howard, the henchman, found them, walking in with a bag. His hands slapped to his eyes, and he turned, "Sorry, boss! I'll come back later!" He was gone before Crane or Rae could respond to that.

When the door slammed, Rae and Crane locked eyes for a moment before Rae started to squirm, in an attempt to 'escape'.

"So, you think I have a nice butt?" His voice held a teasing tone.

"Well, have you looked at it?" She wasn't going to deny it. Plus, the look on his face was priceless. "Now, get off so I can get dressed, or have you failed to notice that I'm only in towel and skivvies?" She wiggled her brows at him a moment, before mentally beating herself. He turned a funny shade of pink before moving off of her.

Getting off of the floor, she adjusted her towel, which had loosened a great amount during the scuffle, nearly falling off when she had stood. No way was she about to flash Crane/Scarecrow her goodies. Crane headed to the stairs, not wanting to continue a conversation with someone in a towel.

Which was good, she figured. She glanced to the curtains that had been torn down in the midst of the fight, shrugging. Harold could fix it later. She wanted to get dressed, and, if all went well, get out of there. No offence to Jonny-kins, or anything, but she needed to contact Jenn and let her know what was up, and she also didn't like being thrown around like a rag-doll.

Since Harold wouldn't be back for a while, the henchman obviously thinking they were going to bump uglies, she had time to get herself together, dressed and hair dried, before she went up to have a chat with Crane.

Well… not so much a chat or anything like it. Crane had been oblivious to her coming upstairs, completely engrossed by whatever it was he was working on. She didn't greet him in any way, trying not to draw attention to herself. When Crane sat a bottle of some liquid down, Rae took her chance.

She grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to shift his body towards her, her arms slinked around his neck, tugging his head down to meet her's, or more specifically, their lips to meet.

What Crane didn't notice, as his arms found their way around her waist, was one of her arms moving down, grasping a bottle that had nothing inside. Her arm lifted up high above his head.

With a loud smash, Crane's eyes went wide before they were hidden behind eyelids, his body falling limply to the floor.

Rae leaned down, pressing a kiss to his temple, "Sorry, Jonny-kins, but I can't stick around here and I doubt you'd let me leave."

* * *

Wewt, anyway. Yeah.

Can't really explain this chapter, well, not without giving anything away or whatever.

I dunno if I'll be able to get another chapter in tonight, because there's something I reeaaally wanna watch tonight, and it's three hours long.

So, yeah, comments are appreciated, they make me happy and that makes me write faster. Especially now that everything's lined up right in my head on how I want this to work.

Also, since you all already know that I don't own Batman, because if I did, it'd have been banned a long time ago, so I won't repeat that from here on out, but I also don't own the song that Rae sings, by 3 Doors Down. The song title is 'Going Down In Flames'.

I'm going to go muahaha for a while.'

Kisses!


	15. The Beginning

A Friend Till The End

Means Till Death Do Us Part

* * *

She felt sorry. She did. She didn't know why, though. It bothered her as she searched the warehouse for money, finding a few bills and coins left on the counter (For the henchman? When he did his little errands? Or had he left them there after running an errand? Whatever). She shoved the bills into her pocket, slipping on a pair of shoes, no socks, that had been left near the door. How… mannersy.

"Thanks, darlin'!" She called to the unconscious man on the second level as she walked out, making sure to lock the door behind her. What? No one needed to break in and mess with those hazardous chemicals or get messed up by an insane dark haired man with more personalities than he needed.

First things first, call Jenn. Which sucked, because now she was locked out of the warehouse, in the warehouse district, with no phone booths in sight. That meant locating one without anyone recognizing her from the news, she doubted they had left out the escaped inmates' mugshots. She could feel the bruise forming on her chin, and, as she said earlier to Crane, she was probably forming bruises on her neck. That would draw attention, depending on which part of Gotham she was in. If she was in the Narrows, no one would care, but get nearer to the business district and people would stare more openly. Silly people.

Maybe she could hitch a ride? That wasn't a good plan for getting from point a to point b, but it was better than trying to find a cab in the Warehouse district. At least the occasional car would come around, probably someone from the mob, or another crazy with their goons, but it was a way to get around. Speaking of, a car just turned a corner. A nice car, a shiney black car.

Squinting at the car, she came to the conclusion that it wasn't the Bat's car, too small and sports like, plus, it was still too early for Bat, only about… six?... Before nightfall. Big money, big money. This could work to her advantage or against, depending on the person. She figured some rich, busy people had an assistant who would tell them the daily news if they desired to hear it, so no pictures of her would be involved, though some people still did watch the news, if only for the weather. Here's hoping it was curtain A. Or it could be curtain C and be a mobster overlord guy who would have his goonies pummel her, or who knows what.

She popped out her arm, thumb up, face reddening, eyes watering. If she could look pathetic enough, like her boyfriend just raised his arm to her and then some, maybe she could convince the driver to take her to a payphone or something. Definitely not to the ER, though.

The car slowed, she shook her head, her hair hiding the majority of her face, the bruise visible though. The passenger window rolled down.

"Are you all right, miss?" Dark hair and dark eyes, a creamy tan pigmentation, strong build, manly facial features. She'd seen this face on the TV before, Bruce Wayne. He was wearing a suit, as she'd always seen him in, not a hair out of place. Surprisingly, he was the only one in the vehicle. She'd heard of his parties where he'd bring three women in as his 'dates'. Maybe this was his alone time? Well, no time to worry about Mister Wayne.

"N-not really," A sniffle. "Could I bother you for a ride…? M-my bo-boyfriend-.." A few well-placed tears. "-E-ex now… got me and d-dumped me out here.." Girls tended to share more than necessary when overly emotional… Or she hoped most girls did. "All I ne-need to get to is a phone-bo-booth, no where too out of the w-way." Shiver. Good.

Wayne took a few moments before responding, nodding his head, "Alright, get in. Think you can use a phone at my work?" She nodded. It didn't matter as long as she made a call and got out as soon as she could. She took a seat when the door was unlocked and opened, closing it behind her.

* * *

He was letting an escaped criminal get into his car. His car. This was too close for comfort, but he couldn't just... let her go. She was an escaped criminal, and he was Batman… even without his costume. He revved the engine, flashing that playboy smile, "Don't forget to buckle up."

She did as he said, still shaking. That brought more questions to his mind. How did she really get bruised up like that, the one on her chin was purple with yellow around the edges, standing out against her pale flesh tone, and the ones on her neck were almost like someone had tried to choke her, their coloring was nearing the same as the one on her chin. Strangely enough, she looked like she had recently gotten out of a shower, her hair had dampened her shirt slightly.

He took off, careful to watch the girl with his peripheral vision. "I'm Bruce Wayne, and you are?" He tried his friendly smile, which ended up being his playboy smile, but he rarely got any complaints about it.

"Tabitha Eversmire," She hadn't missed a beat. Her real name would be recognized, he supposed. Honestly, he was hoping to catch her off guard. Oh well.

"You sure you don't want me to take you to the police or the hospital?" A genuine question. She could be hurt worse than she was letting on. Or… she could be taken to the police and locked up and thrown back into Arkham. That would be nice. Really, it would save him the trouble later. It would save him a lot of trouble later.

"N-no!" Tears. God, he hated tears. There were few people he could really deal with when they were crying, to help them out of it, and that was a long time ago. He flinched, nodding his head. The drive was a quiet one to Wayne Enterprises. He refused to ask anything more until they got there. He had more important things to worry about, like how he could keep the escaped inmate from leaving, getting to the Bat-suit, without anyone realizing he had gone, and getting the girl back to Arkham, _then_ being back in a timely manner.

* * *

Tabitha Eversmire. She had almost smiled when she said that name. When she was in grade school, there was a teacher she had a crush on, Mr. Eversmire, and around that time, she was wishing her name had been Tabitha. She hadn't really planned it, the name sort of slipped out, but at least she didn't give her real name. She had told Jenn about it once, and that was when Jenn told her she had wished to be named Samantha. She'd call her Sam when she got a hold of her. Hopefully, she'd get it.

She was quiet after giving the answers to the questions he had asked. He stopped asking questions. She was thankful. Too many questions made people forget their answers to their earlier questions if they were lying. She had spaced out in the vehicle, not surprising, she did that a lot when she was younger, snapping out of it when the car stopped and a hand was touching her lower arm.

"We're here," Another dazzling, fake smile from the bajillionaire known as Bruce Wayne. She jerked her arm, not in disgust or anything, but to keep up her act… Well, she didn't feel like being touched, and bad things happened when she was touched when she didn't want to be touched…

She undid the buckle, letting herself out of the car, someone coming to take the car to it's designated parking spot. He waved a hand signify her to follow. She hid a scowl. She was not a puppy dog, but she'd put up with it… get Wayne back later. He led her to an elevator, which went up a few floors, stopping. He then took her to a desk, where someone was actually working.

"Gary here will let you use his phone, won't you, Gary?" Bruce flashed a smile at the man that was definitely not a playboy smile. Gary nodded his head.

"Th-hanks," She lifted the phone, being watched by dark eyes, dialing the number quickly. Of course, Jenn answered. Rae almost smiled. "S-Sam? It's me, Tabitha.. Th-That bastard du-dumped me in th-the warehouse district!" Tears. Tears.

"Wah?… Rae?" She could almost hear the sound of Jenn's brain clicking.

"Yes!… I-I need a favor… I'm at Wayne Enterprises and I need a ride, Sam. Could you come and get me?" Her eyes locked with Wayne's for a moment, before she lowered her own to the floor. He really could stop watching her.

"There better be an explanation when I get there!" Jenn sounded upset. Had she seen the news? Or maybe she was just mad that Rae was _out_ again, not in Arkham where she was getting _help_. Whatever.

"T-thank you so much, Sam! S-see you in a bit," She was glad to hang up the phone. "I-I'm going to go wai-wait out front... okay?" She added the okay simply to remind him she was, pretending to be, a broken girl who didn't want to be roughed up again. Wayne frowned a moment, before nodding. Good. She wouldn't want the playboy to follow her around like a puppy, or vice versa, this little game beginning to bore her.

"Don't forget to file a report, okay?" He actually sounded concerned. She nodded, turning her back to him. She could hear Gary murmur something about her, she chose not to listen too closely. The ride back down the elevator seemed much slower than the ride up was. It had stopped more times, several people getting in, all getting out with her on the first floor. A flood of people flowed into the elevator after she had left.

Her steps were nearly mechanical as she walked outside of the building. Her eyes went skywards, taking in the height of the building. Very large, along with other skyscrapers around it, but it seemed to hold a tiny bit more height (Compensation? Heh). A twisted smile caught her lips, the details of her plan becoming finalized. Well, at least she'd have a surprise for Wayne, next time she saw him. And Jonny-kins might piss himself if he saw what she planned on TV. She bet he'd even come and say hello, in an angrier way, of course.

"Don't tell me what to believe… 'Cause you won't be there to catch me when I fall," She smiled, humming the rest of the song. Too bad Jonny-kins didn't get the hint. Would anyone? She doubted it.

A voice broke her out of her thoughts, Jenn, of course, "R-Tabitha, get your butt in here, you've got some splainin' to do!" Rae almost laughed, almost.

She walked to the vehicle, a cab Jenn had managed to catch, and she leaned forward, talking to the cab driver, "Be a doll and drive us to the nearest Radio Shack." She leaned back, flashing a smile to her friend, who was now fussing over her face, despite being angry with her.

"Who did this to you?" Gentle touches to her chin made her flinch. She hadn't realized it had been throbbing. Wow. At least the throbbing in her head was gone, replaced by her chin. Grand. The fingers moved to her neck.

"Jonny-kins. Remember him? He was probably reading a book when you visited. I'll tell you about that later," She waved a hand dismissing that bit of the conversation, and also to get the hands away from her. "We have more important matters to discuss, _Sam_. And we need to find a place to stay."

"But my apartmen-" Jenn paused, spying the look Rae was giving her. Rae couldn't do to the girl's apartment. The cops would be there, especially if that Gary guy had noticed whom she resembled, or Wayne had and not said anything. Here's hoping neither had.

"Is probably being watched," She let out a giggle. Wow, she was now rather hyper. Sad, she had all this energy and she would have to wait to go through with her plan. First, she had to get organized. She could do that through the night, and it wouldn't be any fun without the Batman there, he was who the whole plan was focused. It would be great if Jonny-kins were there too… Well, she was planning on his showing up anyway. 'Cause he was Jonathan/Scarecrow, and he was probably pissed.

"Oh, right. Forgot," Jenn frowned, crossing her arms. The cab came to a stop, Rae shoving half the cash she had stolen from Jonathan at the driver before crawling out, Jenn following. Whoops. Supplies, first, apparently, then shelter. A horrible person, she was, with getting the plans all mixed up before she even started. Oh well.

"Jenn, do me a favor and go buy anything with a crane, springs, and whatever else you can with this," Spoken while shoving some of the remaining money into the other girl's hands. "Anything else we can get at the Dollar store."

Jenn paused for a second, giving Rae a look. Well, THE look. "Rae…"

"Jenn! Please, just do it?" She scrunched her face up, getting agitated. "I'll clue you in when we find a place, but we need this stuff before we can _do_ anything!"

"We?"

"Oh! Did I not tell you? Sorry… But, if you're not too against it, I was hoping you would help me with something… Don't worry, you won't get hurt," Again with the hand waving. "But! If things fall through, I swear I'll go back to the asylum. Just… please?"

Jenn stared at her friend, taking a breath, her eyes shutting. She was mulling the idea over in her head, to help, to not help.

"I won't be harmed? Will anyone else be?"

Rae blinked at the questions, smiling, "No one else will be hurt, I swear, Jenn. Pinky promise and all."

Jenn bit her lip, a habit that was preformed only when she was seriously considering something. It told Rae the answer right then and there.

"I'll do it."

* * *

Okay, didn't want to end it right there, but that just means I'll keep on writing and start working on the next chapter!

Awesome, right?

Anyway, tell me what you think~!

Any ideas as to what Rae's plan might be?

A cookie to anyone who gets close.


	16. Falling

Stay With Me,

Until The End of the World.

* * *

"I'll do it."

That was all Rae needed to hear for that smile to be plastered on her lips. She pulled her friend into a tight hug, letting out a breath. This meant she didn't have to kidnap anyone and could have someone help her instead of scream at her about how they had a family and a husband and could pay her and blaah blaaah blaaah.

"Thank you, so much, Jenn… Now, please, please, please, go get those things I asked. It'll be getting dark and if anyone reported seeing me…" She let the sentence die off. Batman. Batman came at night. It wasn't that she was scared of Batman, she just really did not want to go back to Arkham the night of/after her escape.. She hadn't been sure of the specific time that Tetch had taken her out of Arkham, but darnit, she didn't care right now. She had a _friend_ to _work_ with.

"Fiiine! But I'm not your henchwoman!" She wiggled a finger at Rae, taking off into the store. Good.

"'Course not!" She called after, walking a little bit down the block to the edge of the building, taking a few steps inside of an alley. She had to avoid public eyes, right? Right. The more people that saw her, the more likely she was to be reported to the police. Police meant Arkham, Arkham meant postponing her plan longer. She was excited about it, she wanted it done now. Too bad it'd have to wait until sunset tomorrow, at the very soonest.

She amused herself by braiding small batches of her hair, loosely so that it would undo the minute she dropped the braid. She lost count of how many were made and destroyed by the time Jenn had returned a bag in her hand. Rae blinked at her, quirking a brow.

"It's Radio Shack and you didn't give me much to work with, bite me, Rae," Jenn shook her head, smiling. Rae wondered if she had managed to turn this into some sort of adventure in her head, where they were going to be the good guys. Funny. She hoped not.

"S'fine~! I'm sure everything will work out in the end! Now, we need to get to a cheap-o store. Jump-ropes and extra bits of metal are needed," Rae slipped her arm in Jenn's, tipping her head down, hair in her face again, as she tugged them along.

Her legs twitched as she walked, the excitement spreading through her body, but mostly through her legs, eyes widening at the thoughts of the outcome of her devilish plan. She thought it was devilish, anyway. Hell, she wanted to let out an evil laugh right then and there. Assuming her evil laugh wasn't embarrassing… She hadn't really practiced an evil laugh, or anything, really… But it would be interesting to find out. When she was alone… and no one was listening, if her laugh was a funny or awkward.

Rae was happy that Jenn seemed to know where to go, because she had no idea. They began to chat over little things that held no real value, how things had been (No big details given about Jonny-kins, of course… that would be for when they were alone), how many times the cops had visited, the sky, whatever popped into their heads, really. Rae had to stop outside of the cheap-o store that Jenn had nearly led her into, giving her a quick look. Jenn squeaked and let her go, apologizing for forgetting, promising to be back in a few moments, handing Rae the bag.

With the bag, Rae was unable to play with her hair the way she liked, mostly because she refused to let the bad slide down her arm, out of her hand. She had nothing at that moment to entertain her. She tried not to focus on the plan, because it made her giddy, well, giddier, and the more excited she got, and the slower time would go. That's how plans went to hell, get to pepped for it and go at it before being fully prepared. And then the Bat would get you. At least, with Jenn here, things could be done quicker… If the Bat managed to catch Jenn, Rae would allow herself to be caught and claim to have coerced her into coming along and held a gun to her head to do what she said. Jenn could deny it all she wanted, Rae would claim it was… What… Stockholm's Syndrome? Whatever the thing was where a victim developed a connection to the criminal, defend whomever had hurt/kidnapped them. Maybe, if Crane weren't too pissed and ended up caught too, he could agree and convince the Bat to let Jenn go. That would be nice. Probably wouldn't happen, but it'd be nice. She'd have to talk with the Bat before she left everything go through… which increased the chase of being caught. Anything for a friend, right?

And she was back to thinking about the plan! Damnit!

Thankfully, Jenn popped up moments before Rae smashed her own face into the side of the building. "Hope we don't need much more than this."

"If we do, Jenn, we'll make another trip! Now, let's find a place to stay," She linked her arm with Jenn's again, tugging Jenn down the alleyway. If anyone dared to try anything then, Rae might snap. It was different when she was by herself. Sure, it was her, if she got beat up, fine, but if _Jenn_ got beat up… She liked two people in the world, one she wasn't about to admit at the moment, but Jenn was top of the list material and was staying there. "And we will need to make another trip, anyway, so no big…"

It was quite a walk, from Wayne Enterprises to the Narrows, but the Narrows was the best place to find an abandoned building of some sort. Hopefully Jenn wouldn't mind. If she did, whoops. Sorry. She'd make it up to the other girl later.

The crowds of people lessened more and more as they got closer to the Narrows, until it was just the two of them. That was when Rae explained as much as she could, leaving a few minor details out of the plans (Okay, not minor, maaaajooorr… But what was a white lie between friends?), becoming quiet if anyone passed by. She had to hold Jenn's arm tighter at the bits when Jonny-kins… no… Scarecrow and her had… 'fought', the girl ready to go pay the man a visit, even if she didn't know where he was.

Yeah, that brought her thoughts back to Crane, becoming quiet during their search. He was going to be so angry with her when he woke up and Scarecrow would want to rip her face off and wear it as a hat… The vision of that in chibi form almost made her burst into laughter.

"-ae? Rae?" A finger was being pressed into her cheek. Rae blinked, glancing to Jenn, whose hand that wasn't poking her was pointing at a run down looking building. Awesome or it would be if there were no junkies inside, or dead bodies. That would suck.

"Right, that looks decent enough!" The inside of the place looked abandoned, like everyone had just up and left, someone having posted a condemned sticker on the front door. She promptly ignored the sticker, yanking the door open, an unholy noise coming from the hinges. She wondered a moment how long the building had been condemned and left, no one tearing it down. Hope beyond hope that the building wasn't going to be torn down while she and Jenn made another trip later.

"Hey! Anyone here?" She hollered. No response. That didn't mean no one was inside, that just mean no one felt like responding if there was anyone. Jenn followed in after her, only to be motioned to stop. "I'mma start playing with things that'll go boom, so you might want to get the hell out!" No noise. Good, no one was there, then. Crazies worked in the Narrows, so occasionally, a building might burn down because someone was trying to build something that didn't exactly agree with them.. or mixed something that wasn't exactly… friendly. She waved her hand, signaling it was fine to come in.

"Sheesh, Rae.." Rae rolled her eyes at her friend's comment, whether it be about her threat or about the condition the place was in. Jenn would just have to deal with it or leave. She's prefer if the other just dealt with it… Kidnapping someone to take her place would be a hassle. And Jenn was her friend. She patted the taller of the two on the shoulder, flashing a smile.

"Yeah, kinda sucks, but we'll make due." She took the bags, heading to a room, the door hanging on its hinges. The room was bare, the floors creaked when she walked on them, and there was a putrid smell that lingered in the air. She doubted the smell would fade if they opened a window. Just her luck. Grabbing the bags by the bottom, she spilt the contents of the bags onto the floor. Ignoring the odor, she grinned like a lightbulb, sitting down. It was time to get to work.

* * *

He was beyond furious. He was pissed. Yes, that was the word, pissed. His head throbbed and he felt a little hurt.

Harold had woken him up from his… nap. Scarecrow was just as enraged as he was. He was going on and on about the ways he would destroy her, starting with her soul, ending with her body. It was adding to the headache that had formed.

Not only had she knocked him out, but she also took some of the money left over from a bank robbery. Not much, but still!… Well, she had been in Arkham, but that did not excuse such behavior when he..

'_Took her in and beat the crap out of her, drugged her, watched her sleep in her underwear-'_

'_I was taking notes of her scars, not watching her sleep in her undergarments!'_

'_-Questioned her the scars, fought with her while she was practically naked..'_

'_That was you!'_

'_So?'_

'But-'

'_But?'_

'…_.'_

'_Exactly~!'_

If he could have, Crane would've punched Scarecrow in the crotch right then.

He had returned to his work, after cleaning up the mess left behind… Unfortunately, things weren't going so well. He was too… _bothered_. He was distracted. Where the hell had she gone? Why did she leave? Ignoring Scarecrow's answers from earlier, he frowned, putting everything away, fearing he might just blow himself up. What good was he if he 'sploded-No doubt how the Joker would have worded it like so-?

He promised himself some rest, not in the bed she slept in, he'd have it washed first. No, instead he resigned himself to the couch, though found himself unable to sleep. He left the television on a News network, not to see a glimpse of her, or the Bat bringing her in… just 'cause.

In the morning, Crane woke, uncomfortably, having forgotten to take his glasses off, falling asleep in the middle of the night. Harold had stopped in, he noticed, left a note and a cell phone. Smart man, don't wake the sleeping dragon. After concocting some sort of edible substance, he found his body moving back to the couch, eyes glued to the television set, setting a pillow on his lap, his plate on the pillow. Maybe another inmate had escaped or the Bats had taken Rae in during the night? A bit of hope popped into the back of his head, wanting Rae not to have been caught. He was interested in seeing what she would do…

So he'd wait.

Until he or Scarecrow got too antsy.

* * *

Rae tied her hair back with a makeshift hair-tie, a bit of plastic from one of the bags kept her hair up, then began to tuck tons of little devices into her pockets. When Jenn woke, she stuffed a few into the other girl's pockets as well. She moved with an extra bounce in her step, whether it be from the sleep deprivation or anxiousness Jenn couldn't tell.

"Now, remember, Jenn, we need to find something long and hard when we get there!" Jenn concluded that Rae was anxious. Rae was practically bouncing when they left the condemned building, very few traces of the girls left behind. Rae was dragging a strange contraption behind her, it looked like a mix between a machine and one of those contraptions a mailman might use to deliver multiple boxes.

"Rae, what're these things…?" Jenn pulled out one of the devices from her pockets though dropped it back in when Rae tapped her hand.

"The things that'll leave my message! I made…. A lot." Her eyes had a far off look in them, like she wasn't completely focused on the conversation. "But I did have to use one last night while you were sleeping.."

"You did not leave me alone in that building!" Jenn panicked mentally. Obviously, nothing had happened while Rae was gone, but what would have happened if someone had wondered in and found her laying there on the floor? She shuddered at the thought.

Rae waved a hand at Jenn, "Only for a moment, Jenn. Breath. It's good for you." A lie, she had to go run and get a few things, but what exactly was the length of a moment? Heh. Rae smiled at the scowl she received. "I had to get some extra machinery for this operation. Had to use one of those little gizmos to convince someone to give me some of their extra artillery that they had on hand."

Jenn frowned. Artillery? "Did you also get that jacket from this person?" She only just noticed Rae's new suit jacket that was far too large for the girl.

"Yes, in fact!" A little giggle. Odd. Now Rae was giggly. "I'd have gotten you a gun too, but I need to make sure that no one will think you're a bad guy too, ya' know?" Rae smiled at Jenn, though it turned into a smirk as she began to think of the 'plan'. It would take a bit to set up, but if things went correctly and smoothly, she'd have everything set up before nightfall.

The walk to Wayne Enterprises had been equally as long as it had been walking away from it. Rae flashed Jenn a smirk, walking in calmly and quietly. This act kept up through the ride up the elevator and out onto one of the floors, the one Wayne had brought Rae to use a phone. She spied that one fellow, Gary was it?, and leaned over his desk.

"Hey, Gary. I was here yesterday… Do you know if Mister Wayne is in his office?" Gary blinked up at her, her voice having caught his attention. His eyes went wide before he nodded lightly. She glanced to the clock. It was about three in the afternoon. She leaned back. "Could you phone him right quick and tell him Tabitha is on her way up to say hello?" Gary bobbed his head and kept bobbing it while Rae snatched Jenn's arm, heading quickly back towards the elevator. She bet Wayne had his office up on the highest floor. Convenient.

Before the elevator reached the top floor, Rae pulled the jump-rope purchased the night prior and began to tie Jenn up with it, loosely, of course, but enough to look convincing. A touch of duct tape…. And then? She pulled a lovely big gun from under the suit jacket, from its place tucked into her pants near her rear.

The door's dinged and the secretary was met with a sight that made her go still. A guard had been located on the side of the room, almost immediately moving to go for a weapon, but he had stopped upon seeing the gun pressed against Jenn's head.

Rae waggled her fingers at the secretary, "Guard-man, go. Secretary stay." She stepped from the elevator with Jenn, who was wriggling and writhing, shoving her cart-like contraption to the side, safe and sound. "But hold the door, 'cause she's coming too." She nodded to the secretary, who was about to have an absolute breakdown. "Don't worry, you won't die. I just want you to do two things, okay?" Secretary nodded. "Okay. Now, take a breath and calm down… Call your boss and tell him Tabitha is here to see him and she's coming in. Next? Go on the intercom and tell everybody to leave. That's all I need." The secretary nodded once more, before going to do that. When she was finished, she waited for a second before hurrying to meet with the guard.

As Rae neared the door, she swore she heard Mister Wayne wondering loudly why his secretary had done that, his quick paced footsteps growing louder as he neared the door. She let him come, the door opened with a whoosh.

"Jenin-…. Tabith-?" His words caught in his throat a moment. He looked as if he were about to speak when Rae began to talk.

"This isn't a hold-up and I don't want to kill you. You need to get into that elevator when it comes back up and leave. No one has to be hurt here, Mister Wayne. Hell, if you do what I ask, she," A nod to Jenn, who wiggled and screamed into the duct tape, "won't be hurt either. But-…" She pressed the mouth of the gun against Jenn's temple, giving Wayne a hard, cold look.

"I-I'll go…" A look of defeat almost made her cheer, but she held back.

"Good, go. Now. And if you touch my cart I'll shoot you both," Her eyes darted to her little machine/cart hybrid. He nodded, moving carefully around them, to the elevator. Shortly after, the elevator dinged and he got in. Rae locked eyes with him, flashing him her canines. A strange look crossed the man's features right before the door's closed, like he knew a joke she would never get.

A moment of silence and Rae untied Jenn.

"Ow that hurts!" A whine from Jenn as she pulled off the duct tape.

"Hey, it'll be worse later, right?" Rae let out a light snigger, before waiting a while for everyone to leave before checking the clock.. "Huh. So far, so good. Let's hurry though, give _him_ enough time to catch up." Jenn nodded, rubbing her mouth as they both set out to work.

* * *

News! Around six in the afternoon, but it was news nonetheless. Especially it's focus.

"-ree hours ago Raelynn 'Rae' Vail, an escaped inmate from Arkham, has locked herself up in Wayne Enterprises with a hostage, name currently unknown. There have been no demands, nothing, except warnings that if anyone got too close that she didn't invite in, there would be consequenc-"

A shattering boom came through the screen, shards of glass raining down after a few moments of shocked silence. Crane leaned forward, eyes stuck on the screen.

"Wh-what just happened?!" The camera moved from the news lady's face up and up the Wayne Enterprise building, stopping not too far from the top. In fact, he could see the top, where a strange machine had been set up on one side, the visible side, leaning over the edge a bit, though it appeared anchored down.

But he wasn't focused on that, nor on the movement from the roof near the machine.

No.

He was focused on the windows.

"Does that say… 'Come Play, Jonny'?" The news lady couldn't have said it better.

Seconds later he was out the door, Harold on his way, mask in hand and canisters strapped to his arms.

If she wanted to 'play' this badly, she could have stayed.

But she captured his full attention this way.

* * *

Rae was pleased with the media coverage. Very pleased. Maybe Jonny _would_ see it and come and visit? That would be wonderful. She arched her neck, a light pop heard as the two of them climbed the stairs to the roof once more. Second time Jenn had to be tied up, but she knew that. That duct tape would hurt later though, ouch. She 'dragged' her 'hostage' to the machine that was now bolted into the rooftop of Wayne Enterprises, shoving Jenn onto it. She undid the knot and began to wrap the jump rope loosely around Rae's creation.

Rae flashed her a reassuring smile, pulling something out from her inside chest pocket. A switch. Jenn's eyes went a little wide, not an act this time.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Rae waved a hand, moving away from the edge. Her eyes went to the horizon, or what she could see past the skyscrapers. It was getting close. If Jonny-kins didn't hurry up, he'd miss the real show. The sun was setting now. It was dangerously close to Bat-time. She flashed Jenn a smile, wiggling her fingers at the other, "Here's hoping I see you later."

Jenn began to actually struggle against the jump rope, but stilled when Rae gave her a joking smile, shaking her head relieved.

Rae turned her back to Jenn, shaking her head slightly, a light laugh escaping her. Grand. This was going to be…

"Rae!"

Her eyes grew in size, the smile growing larger. She turned on her heels dangerously fast, freezing.

No.

He wasn't suppose to be there yet!

Jonny was!

Her eyes narrowed, the smile dropping into a dark smirk, "Batman, you're screwing up my game plan. You're next, not now, can't you come back later?" She held the switch in her hand tightly, taking a few steps backwards, closer and closer towards the edge. Not exactly where she wanted to be, where she could still see Jenn and Jenn could still see her, no… she wanted them both on opposite sides of the building. A frown now marred her features.

"This isn't a joke, Rae," Gravel voice. How could she have mistaken it for Jonny's? Now she was upset with herself for making that voice sound like Jonny's in her head. She did not miss him that bad. He took one step forward, she took two more back.

"Stay away from me, Bats. You don't want to come near me, you've no idea what this is for!" She wiggled the switch, the Batman eyeing it for a moment. "It could be more bombs or it could be to send that innocent girl to her doom! You never know!" A glance to Jenn and Rae almost let out a relieved sigh that she hadn't been heard over the winds.

"You don't want to do this, Rae," He almost seemed to be pleading with her. Aww, poor thing. Did he feel a sense of needing to take care of the crackpots of Gotham? She doubted it, unless his fist was involved. An act, this was an act.

"Says you, Bats!" A giggle. Batman had taken a step forward, so Rae took two more steps back, plus a third, though this was to get up on the ledge, like Jenn was. From here, Batman could simply jump her and pull her away from the edge… But there was the switch.

"Rae!"

She blinked at the voice, "Jonathan?!" Her eyes shifted for only a moment. Now that Batman was there, she hadn't expected him to _show_ up. The shock caught her off guard.

She motioned the man to come towards her, around the Batman. Batman reluctantly let Jonathan through… She flashed them both a smile, Jonathan still a few feet from her.

Her thumb connected with the button. A loud snap had Batman's attention, going from Rae, to Jenn. The contraption she was strapped to had gone like a teeter-totter and Jenn was sliding off, head down towards the concrete and reporters below.

Jonathan gave her a confused look, though she couldn't see it, the thing she could see were his eyes widening as she took a final step backwards, blowing him a kiss. "Bye." He moved forward, quickly, arm snatching out in an attempt to pull her back… She didn't notice.

She, like her friend…

Was falling.

* * *

Dun dun dun!!

Right, so, everyone gets a cookie, because I say so…. Mostly because you had to wait so long for a chapter. I actually hadn't expected to get this far in this chapter, but I did. So ya'. Tell me what you think. I know, it's a little choppy and sh'tuff, but yeah, that's how I wanted it to be.

No hate-mail, 'kay? This is NOT the last chapter. I bet you'd all kill me if I told you this is where I had originally planned to end, but not anymore!

Also! I think this is the longest chapter I've had so far. Wewt. And I sort of like it. So yeah…

Comments are greatly appreciated and make me smile lots and loads. Flames make me punch people in the crotch and are used to roast hot dogs.


	17. Let Go

They Say The Worst Thing In This World Is Saying Good-Bye,

I Think It's Having To Let Go.

* * *

A moment of weightlessness and then a crack back to reality.

The crack was her shoulder as Jonathan grasped her wrist with of his hands. The pain twisting through her arm and shoulder kept her from questioning how he managed to keep a hold of her without him going along for the ride. She bit her lip, her free hand, having dropped the switch, reached up, trying to get the hand causing the pain to let go so her arm wouldn't hurt.

The realization of what was really going on made her claw at his hands around her wrist more. The longer she'd stay where she was, the greater the chance of her tweaking out and _letting_ him pull her up. But that wasn't a part of the plan. Damnit, Jonathan.

She wasn't cursing or screaming, instead she was letting out pained groans, loud, but definitely not screaming. Scarecrow was pouting.

He too was making noises, grunts in effort to try and pull someone up, someone who probably weighed just as much as he did. When was the adrenaline supposed to kick in? One hand stayed on the wrist he already held the other snatching the wrist that was connected to the hand trying to claw at him.

Had either of them been paying attention, they would've noticed that Batman had leapt after Jenn, using one of his fancy little gizmos in the process. Neither cared at the moment, though, so they weren't paying those two much mind.

After a few moments of struggle, Crane pulled Rae up high enough that he was able to loop one of his arms under her's, and with an extra bit of oomph, he sent them both flying backwards away from the ledge.

While was Rae too busy cursing and hugging her arm tightly to her side, Crane, after suspecting the shoulder had been popped out of it's socket, had noticed the very interesting position they had wound up, her laying on top of him, legs on either sides of his hips. A great way to end this strange day. He shoved her off of him, both of them rising from their spots. Rae glanced to the ledge, a look of worry crossing her features for but a moment before being replaced with a devious look. Crane snatched her good arm by the wrist, tugging her to the rooftop exit.

"You are NOT going to do that again!"

"Says who?"

"Me!"

Down the stairs and into a little hallway off to the side of the secretary's area, Rae tugged her arm from Crane, giving him a scathing look, "And who are you to say what I can and cannot do?!"

Crane turned to face her, giving her a blank look before grabbing her once more and took the stairs. Elevators could be stopped. Stairs could have people on them. People could be toxin'd. The run down the stairs had been uneventful, if one excluded Rae's constant bitching and a few SWAT members who hadn't had time to put on their masks.

Outside of the building, there had been a perimeter set up, it kept stupid people and the media from getting too close to the building, hopefully ensuring their safety. Also, it was excellent for spotting anyone who tried to leave the building. Unfortunately for the police and the media, they weren't sure who Batman was with and who Crane/Scarecrow was with. This was used to Crane's advantage, after the stairs were done with and gone.

He was let through the crowds, having Rae in his arms, her still groaning out in pain, his canister aimed at her face, a warning that if anyone dared come near him, he'd shoot her. This was new, no antidote, she'd be mentally gone by the time they would be able to come up with one. They let them through without much trouble, a few commenting that it could've been the girl that held up the building in the first place, her hair was covering too much of her face for them to tell. He met Harold a few blocks down, doing a quick job of knocking Rae unconscious and shoving her into the get-away vehicle.

The rid was long, Harold taking several twists and turns, just in case they were being followed. This gave Crane time to think. To plan. To know what he was going to do with Rae next.

* * *

Rae woke with her head throbbing. Memories began to rush back to her, she sat up, finding herself on Crane's couch. Seconds after she stood, she found Crane was right there, forcing her back into a corner.

"The song! What was it?!" Rae frowned up at Crane as he drew in closer. She hated it when she was pushed into a corner, literally and figuratively. But lo and behold, here she was, stuck, and her head was still throbbing.

"Going Down In Flames…"

"No, the lyrics! The part you sang, the part about falling."

This confused her further, she could only rattle out the words. Yes, it was a clue, but what importance did it have now? She paused a moment, looking down, seeing only his chest and her's now. "Don't tell me what to believe, cause you won't be there to catch me when I fall?"

"Earlier, you asked who was I to tell you that you couldn't do that again, did you not?"

"I… did," A puzzled expression.

"Who am I? I'm the person who caught you when you fell!" He pressed his lips to her forehead, letting out a breath, before leaning down to press a soft kiss to her lips. His eyes then locked with her's. He had to do this quickly, before she suspected anything.

"Jonathan… I…" She was blinking at him, lost in his gaze for a moment.

Her eyelids fell when Jonathan struck her against the head with some decorative doo-dad that had been sitting on a table near them. He shook his head, striking her once more, in an area of the head where most people suffering memory loss were struck.

"And now I'm going to make sure you don't do anything stupid like that again, even if it means…" Jonathan shook his head, not wanting to put the words out there. He left her there, instructing Harold to remove anything that said 'Gotham' from her, giving her plain clothes.

While Harold did that, Jonathan went to his computer, putting together information. Rae looked enough like this woman, she could be given her identity, with some clever hacking skills… What? He wasn't a nerd for nothing.

"At least you won't have to fall again, this way," Jonathan spoke quietly to himself. After Harold was done, he sent the man out to go get some hair dye, brown. He returned and began to dye the knocked-out woman's hair.

After so long, the woman began to rise from her slumber, looking completely different. Her hair was lighter, making her skin tone seem less pale and sickly. Where she would usually start cursing at him about her head, she simple gazed to the floor, brows furrowed, as if concentrating on a speck that was there.

"Who am I?"

The words rang out, the room quiet. Jonathan gazed to the spot she stared at, then at her, "You don't remember who you are?" He wanted to smile and cry at the same moment. It was fine… It was fine. It was better this way. She shook her head, giving him a look of almost pure innocence mixed with some confusion. Jonathan glanced away.

"Your name is Alyse Morrison," The words were forced. "You've lost your memory, I presume. My lackey must've hit you too hard," A smirk caught his lips, time for a show. "Well, you are no longer of any use to us. If you have no memory, I doubt you remember how you fixed your legs… Harry." A snap and once again she was out. This time chloroform supplied by Harold. Harold gave his boss an inquiring gaze.

"What're we going to do with her, boss?"

"We're going to dump her on the other side of the state. I'm sure Batman can use a little break from the both of us…"

"And after?"

"We'll see."

* * *

Yeah, shit ending, I know. Poor Rae! She loses her memories and gets dumped on the opposite side of the country.

If anything seems out of place, my apologies. I wrote the beginning, the end, and then the middle, then altered the end.

Don't worry, there will be a sequel, but it won't be Batman based; Batman characters will show up, but it'll be based in a completely different movie all together. Who knows, maybe in the next story Rae, or should I say Alyse, will be a good guy?… Or an innocent by-stander.

Wait and see.

And I'll understand if you hate me for this ending, but yeah.. It'd be nice if you didn't.

Comments are appreciated. Flames suck.

.... Not going to lie, but I actually don't like this ending, but it leads to a new story where there shall be new fun, so if you don't like it either, again, I'm sorry.


	18. Extra

Sometimes Life Throws You A Curveball,

This Time It Threw A Figure Eight.

* * *

Driving. There was so much driving involved. Normally, he would have just have sent Harold to do the deed and dump the body, but this wasn't just… any... body…

'_You BROKE our TOY!'_

And Scarecrow. He wasn't making this any easier. Jonathan sighed, _'She needs to be broken, she nearly killed herself.'_

'_I don't care! Take her home! FIX her HEAD!' _

'_It… might not be fixable.'_

'_WHAT?!'_

'_Don't worry, we'll come back in a few weeks to make sure… she's as fine as she can be.'

* * *

_

Surprisingly, Scarecrow/Jonathan lay low the next month or so, stayed under Batman's radar. There was no need to be thrown into Arkham if he already had plans that didn't involve Arkham… though it was easy enough to escape from there. When the time came, he had taken the trip again, forcing Harold into the driver's seat, refusing to drive himself.

Jonathan had no clue as to how he would find her. The hospital had let her out, obviously, and they weren't about to give out a patient's information to some random man, even if he was pretty and flirty…

It was pure luck that he had found her, riding around the city with the windows down. The door to a club was open, though it wasn't really a club… because music wasn't loud enough to destroy one's hearing. No, instead he heard a familiar voice float from the open doorway.

"Please be still, there is nothing you need say, it can wait..."

Crane was jumping out of the moving vehicle without a word to Harold, who nearly hit another car in shock of what his boss was doing. Jonathan ran up to the door, eyes narrowed at the door's watchman, a group began to pour in, and Jonathan slipped inside, right alongside the crowd.

There she stood, on the stage, a microphone stand in front of her, looking nervous as the lyrics poured from her lips.

"Sometimes I wanted to cry when the people on TV were not quite the way we were, but somehow I guess I just knew…" She was swaying to the music, he was focusing on her words. If she didn't remember, he doubted she'd have hidden messages in her songs… like… He shook his head, but jerked it back up at the next set of lyrics.

"But I didn't know I'd love you so much… Didn't know I'd love you so much, didn't know I'd love you so much, but I do." He felt his face burn for a few moments, before scanning over the crowd of people. Damn them, were they not there he'd… just…. Just… The song was short and when it ended the lights faded to black..

If he was going to do anything, it'd be…

Now.

* * *

Alright! How'd you like the extra chapter?

I decided that the sequal to this will not be based in a completely different category, though for some of the first chapter, it will be.

* * *


End file.
